


Top Candidate [Pre-DRV3]

by YumeSin



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Blood and Gore, Blood and Injury, Choking, Eye Gouging, Force Choking, M/M, Meta, Mild Gore, Minor Injuries, Multi, Pre-Canon, Pre-Game Oma Kokichi, Pre-Game Personalities (New Dangan Ronpa V3), Pre-Game Saihara Shuichi, Shuichi being a dork, Spoilers, kokichi being a dork
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-01
Updated: 2018-04-23
Packaged: 2019-04-16 16:04:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 25
Words: 43,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14168520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YumeSin/pseuds/YumeSin
Summary: Kokichi Ouma has two things to believe in: his lies and Saihara Shuichi from the Spring Field Academy. Both are fairly volatile. Amidst the rotten things to be found in the world, Kokichi hopes to one day forget his sorrow. But to what lengths is Kokichi willing to go in order to achieve such memory loss?





	1. Chapter 1

“And, if we fail, we’ll just stick to our usual Plan B,” Shuichi said, chopping at a piece of rectangular wood. The inside of the treehouse had two boys in it at the time: Kokichi Oma and Shuichi Saihara. Both hailing from different ends of the city, they needed an easy waypoint to meet at. The treehouse in the middle of the park seemed ideal, almost too perfect to be true. Nestled away in a mess of trees and wildlife, it was unknown if the park rangers even knew what was up here. Portable rechargeable chargers, tablets, small gaming systems--it would be a dream come true to any rugged high schooler to step foot in this place. Trophies of all shapes and sizes were on display in the treehouse. Most were of Kokichi’s achievements for a string of several gaming tournaments. Next to these trophies were wooden carvings, highly detailed figures of Danganronpa characters. The initials ‘S.S’ could be seen carved into the base of each wooden figure. With all the items that managed to be stowed away here, it was still a somewhat small abode. It would be comparable to the width and length of 4-5 closets set side-by-side. With this in mind, the boys only invited one other friend at the time.

 

Shuichi often invited Rantaro, who hadn’t been wanting to stop by recently ever since he started seeing a girl name Kaede gifted in piano. Her musical talent attracted Rantaro the most, the green-haired boy claiming it was ‘love at first sight’. That same ‘love’ was what empowered Rantaro to be so stuck on Kaede, to the point which Shuichi considered breaking them up. Rantaro’s attraction to the girl felt obsessive. Some days all Rantaro would rant about was dealing with how “amazing her talent was” or “how awesome it would be to watch it exponentially grow.” Sure, it was sickening, but Shuichi needed another person to play fighting games with when Kokichi was unavailable. Rantaro was especially driven away by the Danganronpa series. Nothing but negative comments spewed from his mouth, from the plotline to the overarching storyline. Shuichi usually settled the arguments or spats they would have by stating there had been no new installments as of recent, since the company oddly stopped with the release of Ultra Despair Girls.

 

Kokichi, despite his dearth of friends, invited a strange robotic boy named Keebo. They met one day when the robot defended Kokichi from an especially hurtful bully. While his origins and reason for being alive remain unclear, Keebo often showed up randomly and without reason. The robot often seemed to think of most comments toward his existence as “robophobic”. Kokichi took pleasure in this fact and exploited it for some quick humor. But, as of recent, Keebo had been strangely absent from the area. Which leads to the duo being alone in the treehouse for the typical Friday night gaming session.

 

“I know, and you’re always so dead set on that, aren’t you,” Kokichi replied, his voice flat as his fingers mashed against his portal game’s buttons. The Playstation Vita symbol was effaced with a mixture of dirt, grime, among other substances. Curse words written in marker as well as dents covered the vita system. It was a shock that the gaming system still functioned. A pile of blankets were  in an adjacent corner to Kokichi. A pile of pillows were adjacent to Shuichi’s current position as well.

 

“What? You’re telling me if I beat you senseless, you’d still remember your mom getting beaten to death by that dad of yours,” Shuichi teased as he dropped a rectangular piece of wood, “Or  has the story changed to your mom actually living on the streets? Which reality is the one you’re choosing to live in today, Kokichi Oma?” Shuichi rose to his feet, tapping his foot in irritation at Kokichi. Kokichi made no sense to Shuichi -- the boy willingly offers to get beaten to a pulp but winces at the thought of going through with the option.

 

Shuichi proceeded to give a once over to his partner’s clothing. Ripped, dirty, bloody, the usual prognosis of a outfit worn by  Kokichi. Today must’ve been especially difficult, with lines of dried blood coming from his shoulder blades. There must be a constant string of miracles and lunch money to keep the boy in front of Shuichi alive. No, scratch that, it was mostly Kokichi’s excessive lying and complicated tree of bullies. Sending them after each other worked for a bit until they realized they’re being played. The only true thing attached to Kokichi’s character had been his parents status. At least one of them had serious ties to yukuza. The reason was still unknown to the detective in Shuichi, but surely one day he may figure out.

 

“I think...I’ll live in a reality like Danganronpa. Specifically two -- not the one where the OG Junko kills people,” Kokichi replies, laughing a bit as he thumb mashes the ‘A’ button through the end game dialogue, “And then no matter what I did, nothing would even matter.” Shuichi smirks at the sound of Kokichi’s voice. Shuichi stretches first, and after grabbing a blanket from the pile, wears it like a cape.

 

“Oooh Hajime, please take me, a wimpy boy, into a paradi--” Shuichi began to mock Kokichi. In a fluid movement, Kokichi threw his Vita on a pile of  blankets before pounding at Shuichi’s chest. Small tears began to weld up at his eyes, Kokichi’s lips pulled into a pout.

 

“Stop it, I don’t even sound like that,” Kokichi grumbled, taking both of his arms and wrapping them around Shuichi, “And if you’re going to try roleplaying with me, take your character more seriously.” Shuichi took a moment or so to think, likely to mull over the options available now.

 

‘Tch, Kokichi is on edge per usual,’ Shuichi thought, ‘Guess I shouldn’t push the little guy so far. Does look like he’s had a rough day.’

 

Shuichi wraps his arms around Kokichi, seeming to cradle the boy into a closer embrace.

 

“Hmm...well, Nagito, you’re looking pretty hopeful today,” Shuichi says, playing along and taking what he thought Hajime would say in this situation. Kokichi’s ears perk at the sound, a blush overcoming his face.

 

‘I wasn’t expecting him to actually take that request seriously,’ thought Kokichi, burying his face into Shuichi’s chest. Although the two boys frequented the treehouse and have known each other for many years, this was the first time Shuichi took one of Kokichi’s request at face value. Most times it was difficult to figure out which of them had been lying or telling the truth.

 

“Hrm, guess I am. With a pinnacle of hope like you holding me like this, it’s hard to not feeling your radiating hope,” Kokichi responded, lifting his face from Shuichi’s chest long enough to recite his line. Soon after speaking, Kokichi plunged his head back into Shuichi’s chest, nuzzling it the entire time. Shuichi, on the surface, seemed unaffected. But anyone with an inside to his mind would see a treasure trove of pent up emotion.  

 

‘Okay, he’s being way too cute now, I gotta snap him back to reality,’ Shuichi thought to himself as he stared down at the purple-haired boy. The wrinkles and messes on the school uniform appeared even worse up close. How would Shuichi play it off?

 

“Would you care for a Hope Bagel then?” Shuichi asked before bursting out into laughter, shaking his head as he felt playful punches hit his chest.

 

“Dammit, you ruined it with that dead meme Shuichi,” screamed Kokichi, banging at Shuichi’s chest but still managing to get out a laugh. The two both filled the treehouse with laughter for a few minutes as they prepared for the rest of the night.

  


“Well, since you just finished Super Danganronpa for like the 50th time, what’s next on the agenda? Gonna give Persona 5 another crack again,” Shuichi asked, readjusting his hands such that they were set below Kokichi’s.

 

Shuichi held Kokichi tight in his arms, blankets surrounding the both of them while the Vita lay in Kokichi’s hands again. The play screen had been filled with small bubbles containing data from Danganronpa, Persona,BlazBlue, among other game types.

 

“I dunno to be honest. It’d be fun watching you play for a change,” Kokichi said with a smile, thumbing over the buttons as he scrolled through the various screens.

 

“Me? Play these weird visual novels? Sorry, they’re just not for me,” Shuichi responded, scuffing.

 

‘Truth be told I suck at these, even on the easiest difficulty,” Shuichi thought to himself, ‘I can’t let Kokichi see through me like that.’

 

“First of all, you’re the one to make it weird! I remember playing the first game and you saying you wanted some close relations with a specific bushy eyebrowed character,” Kokichi responded, puffing up his cheeks as he clicked the home button.

 

“I had like...two beers? That night? Anyway, don’t judge me,” Shuichi said, puffing his cheeks up in turn and snatching the gaming system, “Now that you bring up the first game, how about we play that?”

 

* * *

 

“Got the target in sight?”

 

“Yes m’lady Junko. Are you sure?”

 

“Ugh, sure about what?”

  
“That both of them are candidates?”

  
“Of course. Are you really fucking doubting me? Are you seriously doubting the 53rd Junko? Of all iterations of us, we have never been wrong about a single candidate.”

 

“U-U-Uh, of course not lady Junko! I just find it really odd we’re staking out these two boys in particular.”

 

“Well, we are. They are part of the final choices. One of them is the top candidate.”

 

“Which one?”

  
“ _That_ one.”

 

“...Oh. Oh dear.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay, since it looks like people like this, here's another chapter! Let me know if you wanna see more! This chapter is from Shuichi's POV! 
> 
> Special shoutout to Noodle for making the picture for this chapter ^_^ She's an awesome artist who has commissions open if you're looking for art! I'll throw a link of her blog up here and also in the end of the chapter! 
> 
> Noodle's art blog: http://noodle-bowl-art.tumblr.com  
> Noodle's commission link: http://noodle-bowl-art.tumblr.com/post/172255595977/will-only-accept-money-over-paypal-dm-me-for
> 
> Again, I hope you enjoy the chapter!

([Click her for artist blog!](http://noodle-bowl-art.tumblr.com)) ([Click here for artist commission page!](http://noodle-bowl-art.tumblr.com/post/172255595977/will-only-accept-money-over-paypal-dm-me-for))

“Erm, this is for you, Shuichi. Don’t take it the wrong way.”

 

“Why would I, you fucking idiot? I-I got you something too.” 

 

“Oh, I can clearly see that! It’s just...when we’re like--”

 

“Guys, this is fucking stupid, what exactly is any of this supposed to prove?” 

 

“Ugh, Shuichi, don’t be ass.”

 

This entire thing was extremely strange. First we’re taken by some blue-haired bimbo and now we’re reciting lines like this is some sort of audition? If they didn’t have gramps as a potential hostage, I’d go down swinging. But here I am, with Kokichi, auditioning for some sort of fan continuation of Danganronpa. I should’ve predicted Kokichi would be too awestruck to fight back. Kokichi was so willing, almost as if he had already been aware, demanding to know what his talent would be. First blue-haired girl, she goes by her initials, TS, tells us we’re final picks, and now we’re trying to “get into character”. When I asked about pay, TS just shrugged it off and laughed. Said we wouldn’t need to worry about such trivial things since we’ll “go beyond such needs”. In other words, we’re recruited without pay.  

 

The room was overly bright with pastel walls and a transparent floor. Those running this mockery of a fan continuation called this the “Character Dev” room. It’s odd how much funding they had to play with, considering how dead this fandom already was.  Before the room was fully set up, it was covered with etching of a specific logo I hadn’t seen on the games before. They represented Team Danganronpa instead of Spike Chunsoft. So that must mean we’re in some sort of fan love project. Once I get Kokichi alone, I should be able to shake him from this madness. If anything, we were about to be a part of the ever growing child trafficking that occured to people our age. Though, if that were the case, something was odd. If they had been watching us for as long as they said they were, why wait until we were both eighteen to grab us? 

 

The pink background gradually faded, and the transparent glass showed nothing but darkness below our feet.  A head of blue hair slowly phased in, a small light from a phone shining below us.

 

“Alright, guess we need to go back to the drawing board. Don’t worry though, we’re in a place where time doesn’t matter,” TS said, appearing from below the floor. Her voice sounded clear despite her positioning. This bitch thought she could just do whatever she want, huh? I threw the pink present in my hand down at her face. Unfortunately it did not make a dent in the glass--and did that bitch just laugh at me? I gritted my teeth, about to bang at the glass some more. I felt Kokichi’s arms hold me tight. She was lucky he was holding me back.

 

“Oh, you’re such a cutie! Despite your plain and average looks, you seem to have quite the fire in you,” TS said with a twisted smile, tapping the glass beneath Kokichi and I’s feet three times. The room suddenly reorganized, a large pink table with pink chairs populating into the room. The room was much larger than before, and, there were two people seated at the table. 

 

One was of no worry, a blond haired girl that appeared as confused as us. From her uniform, I could only assume she was from the Shiny Star International School on the outskirts of town. The other person was an extremely old asian man with a short haircut. Now that I think about it, he does look like the...but no, that wouldn’t make sense. Why was so old? Why would he willingly participate in a fan-made creation of his own idea? 

 

“G-Guys! I...I had no idea. Welcome to Team Danganronpa!” said a familiar voice. I turned back  to see Rantaro. Wait, now this is just getting stranger. How was Rantaro mixed in with this? 

 

“Why are you doing this, why are you stealing children?!? This isn’t right,” spoke another voice, to which when I turned, appeared to come from the blond chick. Maybe this was the Kaede girl Rantaro had been raving about? And, if he was in league with the weirdos here, it would make sense as to why he kept harping on her musical powress. 

 

“Well, I wouldn’t consider any of you children, well, legally at least. You’re of age after all. Per U.S. standards,” spoke a deep and rich voice, from someone I could only assume to be Kodaka.  

 

“What do you mean?!? I am, er, definitely not an adult. We’re still in high school,” Kaede replied, though I  saw Kokichi start to step forward toward the table. As I reached out to grab him, he slipped out of my grasp and moved closer. 

 

“I’m assuming we’re discussing our motivations as characters and such here? Well, no question about it, I think my abilities are perfect for a SHSL Ultimate Gamer! Didn’t your scouters see all the gaming tournys I won,” Kokichi said, his casual tone starting to piss me off. I watched as Kokichi pulled a chair out, proceeding to sit down and lay his feet upon the table. Inspecting him closer, I noticed his uniform was pristine and without a scratch. What else did they do to us when we were knocked unconscious?”

 

  
“Kokichi, our wonderful curator wants to work with you to make you a bit more complex. With this being the 53rd cycle, we run constant analytics. Of past cycles, almost 40% of them always include a gamer to some capacity. We need to step back from that direction to keep our current audience, “ TS stated, her body and a stack of papers materializing out of what could be best called nowhere. 

 

I turned back to Rantaro, who  seemed to have some big vacant smile on his face. How deep was he into this dumb shit, exactly? 

 

“Why are you working for these idiots? I thought you hated this game, to it’s very core,” I asked, balling my hands into fist, “And now it turns out you’re on some weird board to select candidates?!?” 

 

I heard Rantaro’s laugh start small, but then erupt into a full on manic laughter. I watched as his eyes appeared to turn dark, a sight tint of red in the white of his eyes. 

 

“Well, those games, I do hate. The source material could use a lot of work and revamping, as I’m sure the dear creator would let you know,” Rantaro stated, my eyes turning back to the table to see Kodaka nod. What sort of reality was in now? Was this the truth, or fiction? Was this just a bad dreamt that I’d wake up from? 

 

“Anyway, let’s continue. Shuichi, you’re to be Protag Two and Kaede, Protag One. Now we’re not certain on you--” TS started, but I was already sick of this. We play games to *pretend* we’re terrible, to place ourselves into a specific situation. No fan of Danganronpa would *actually* willingly give themselves to the madness...well...maybe I speak too soon.  

 

As I raced toward the table, I saw Kokichi, eyes bright toward Kodaka. They appeared to be having some sort of lively conversation on their own. Present in hand, I sighed. Maybe they knew, on a deeper level, I didn’t want Kokichi to be saddened. Kokichi would go through with this without a second thought. Kokichi had nothing to go back to. But why wouldn’t he at least do it for me? Even suggesting something like that may get me killed, though. Maybe that’s just my dumb human emotion trying to speed up that process.

 

I took a seat next to Kokichi, placing the weird present prop on the table. 

 

“So, I’m a protagonist? Does that mean I don’t die?” Kaede asked, sighing afterward. Guess that would mean the same for me too. It wouldn’t be easy, but, if we had plot armor, we’d be safe. 

 

“You know, that’s part of the lore we really want to work on. It’s part of the reason why we have two protagonists! We wanna kill one of you off with a bang,” TS stated, pushing paperwork across the table. In a fluid motion, the papers slid across the table to in front of those seated. I was the only exception. 

 

“Rantaro, please join us at the table. We need to begin work now, or the 53rd cycle won’t start on time,” TS said, placing a pair of reading glasses on her face, a sewing kit being put in view, “And if we start late, I think our fans won’t be too happy, riiight?” 

 

I took another glance at Rantaro, who appeared to be jogging over despite his closeness to the table already.

 

“Right, we best get moving,” Rantaro said, complying as he took a seat beside me.  Wait -- didn’t she just say time doesn’t matter here? That’s an obvious contradiction. 

 

“Aren’t you going to explain why we’re suddenly in the 50’s in terms of games instead of the 3rd one,” I asked, my eyes aimed toward the blue-haired woman. There had to be some sort of reason she wanted to go by her initials instead of her actual name. Was she someone from the real world we had already known? I couldn’t be direct and question her contradictions, I wasn’t sure how much they needed me. Or if there were many others in the world to take my place.

 

“Ah, good question! I guess I should give you all a quick rundown. Not like you’ll remember it anyways once the cycle begins! Danganronpa started as a indie game, but then, budgets got reaaally shitty. Plus Kodaka didn’t want to be on board for a 3rd game. He thought wrapping things up with the 2nd game was perfectly fine. But then, fans started making their own killing games on the black market. Innocent people were being slaughtered, and most times, no rules were in place. After a few of my associates informed Kodaka of the situation, he knew he had to act soon! Because we wanted to tackle the black market aspect of the problem, we had to keep the newer cycles quiet. If we made it mainstream, another bigger black market would steal another segment of the audience. After a bunch of technological number crunching, we sent out invites to those in ‘high success areas’. These are people who lived in terrible living conditions, experienced trauma, had suicidal tendencies, and were huge fans of the video games! I particularly hadn’t been on board until the 52nd cycle, which required a bit more of a *personal* touch. You see, the three of you here aren’t the full cast yet. You’re just the larger pawns in the overarching game. Well, Rantaro will be joining you as well, but he’s something that will be explained at a later time. Does that answer your burning question, my beautiful wimpy protag one?” TS said, her words sounding overly passionate and cryptic as she went on. Damn, damn, damn….was I really stuck here? How could they even track all the tidbits that they do for these stupid games? If they just went to the police, or even reached out to authority, I’m sure the black markets would’ve been dealt with. These people I’m sitting around are monsters. No excuse for them to do this. They’re just using the rabid super fan behavior to cover their own terrible behavior. But, if this was all true, if this is the true picture of Danganronpa… 

 

“Fine. I’ll do it. All you guys are gonna do is grab another kid if I quit, right?” I said, looking around. TS. smiled, another paper flying across the table to rest in front of me. The text was red, written in red bold handwriting. 

 

**I’d kill you before you’d even see your replacement.**

 

The paper disappeared after I had finished reading, my face left in a twist of despair...is this..what despair feels like?

 

“Good, now with all that settled, are we good to go? I mean, we have tons of work ahead of us. Kodaka takes an extensive amount of time to craft his top candidates,” T.S stated, a large cloud appearing about her figure. What was she doing exactly? 

 

“I mean, if we keep wasting time like this,” said a...is that, how the fuck, is that Hagakure, “We’ll just lose our fanbase to the next bidder. Now, shall we begin?” The second line sounded like Celeste...this is gonna suck. Suck a looot. 

 

“Awesome, ok, let’s talk about meee--” Kokichi started, but then Kaede slammed her hand against the table. 

 

“No, we need to start with top candidates, remember? If we’re all stuck here...we might as well get that out of the way.” 

  
“Oh, you haven’t heard? Kokichi is the top candidate. I thought I made that clear enough enough with my speech earlier...sorrry…” Now Chihiro spoke, TS looks morphing to that of her(or his, I-I’ll be safe and say theirs) exact likeness, “So if we’re starting with anyone, it needs to be this purple-haired brat!” Now, again, a new character...Mahiru. 

 

What exactly did I agree to? How was I going to survive? And how the fuck did the gremlin get top candidate status and not me? 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's those links again, as promised! 
> 
> Noodle's art blog: http://noodle-bowl-art.tumblr.com  
> Noodle's commission link: http://noodle-bowl-art.tumblr.com/post/172255595977/will-only-accept-money-over-paypal-dm-me-for
> 
> I really hope people are enjoying this series, it started out as somewhat of a joke for April Fools but I think I make write this seriously...let me know what you think!
> 
> One more shoutout, same artist, but she runs a really cool Kokichi ask blog! I'll post the link down below
> 
> Kokichi ask blog: https://panta-and-liars.tumblr.com


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter of the story no one asked for!
> 
> Shuichi POV still, getting sick of TS(you can probably guess who its)'s shit. All pictures from the Danganronpa Wikia!

“You know, Shuichi?”

 

“What?”

 

“This is actually pretty cool! We don’t need to shit, piss, eat, or anything! We just...exist.”

 

“You don’t think that’s strange?”

 

“Nope! In fact, if we could stay here forever, it’d be my dream.”

 

Kokichi and I were lying next to each other in a field with a sky that was likely electronically generated. I’ve been trying to keep my thoughts straight here but it’s hard. Reality doesn’t seem to exist here. The closest thing to normalcy are our meetings with TS. Whenever she greets us, she uses a new Danganronpa character. I hate it but Kokichi always perks up to the girl like she’s a prophet.

 

How long has it even been since we started our time here? The past hours(or days?) had been filled with Kodaka speaking privately with Kokichi while I was stuck with the blond bimbo. The airhead still thought there was a slim chance to escape this place. It was like her resolve wasn’t moving a centimeter. Sometimes the dumb cunt even whispered in my ear, as if TS couldn’t hear. The bimbo who whisper about things she'd notice, about how they seemed to have us playing out a bunch of romantic scenes. I tried to see them as friendly, more along the lines as becoming close friends. The girls personality was the worst part, but, I think that'll be a rant for its own time.

 

“Hey, Shuichi, don’t go spacing out on me. It’s only been a few days since we’ve been here and you’re drifting...unless, well, that’s your character. Then drift better, Nishishi” Kokichi stated, a weird laugh following his words. What type of laugh was that? He sounded like a freaking horse.

 

“My character isn’t that dumb. Sure, they want me to play a really useless detective role, but I doubt my character would space out that much. I doubt Kodaka would lean against such a weak trope,” I answered, staring up at the sky…or was it really the sky? It could just be pixels with that weird logo repeating over and over...this is just what they wanted us to see today. I didn’t wanna believe in an environment that could change at someone’s whim.

 

“Sureee~ From the sounds of it, he wants this to be a cool theme this cycle. ‘Truth and Lie’ is the overarching theme. Isn’t that cool,” Kokichi spoke, but his tone was starting to piss me off per usual. How could Kokichi speak as if this wasn’t putting our actual lives on the line? Why was Kokichi so okay with the danger of being put on an actual cast of Danganronpa?

 

“Not really. I mean, if I were the one playing this game, I’d be interested. Not pre-order interested, but interested,” I replied, turning my body to face Kokichi. As I turned, I hadn’t realized how close he was snuggled to me.

 

My face inadvertently collided with his own, his face seeming to slip lower, into my chest. His arms wrapped around my body, a blush coming across my face.

 

“Kokichi, this isn’t the time for this,” I muttered to him, keeping my voice low for the slight chance that the team hadn’t been watching us.

 

“Who cares, nothing matters. You’re the only real thing left here. It’s comfy to hold onto something that doesn’t change shape or knock you unconscious,” Kokichi spoke into my chest, muffling his words. I hadn’t heard words like those in quite sometime. Maybe this place was starting to get to him. My arms wrapped around him, holding him close.

 

“Doesn’t mean you gotta get mushy for these idiots,” I whispered, my hands sliding up his back to pat his head. I think I was slowly starting to understand Kaede’s resolve. Maybe not to the full extent of the delusion of leaving here, but, getting closer to her ideal. Our lives were public here. Kokichi and I had...something going on before all of this happened. And god knows whatever relationships they’ll force us into with the other “characters”. My stomach began to turn at the idea of dating some scum.

 

“Better get used to it, this is our lives now. Our lives are their entertainment,” Kokichi said, pulling his face away to stare at me.

 

“It doesn’t have to be that way,” I whispered back. My eyes focused down at Kokichi, our eyes connecting for a moment of solace. But, just as I felt a bit of happiness, Kokichi’s image morphed into that of...TS?

 

I pushed the woman away from me, which she replied with a sickening cackle.

 

“As expected, you’re really a softie deep down, huuuh?” TS taunted me, the area around us reverting to our usual meeting room. The large rectangular table separated me from that blue-haired devil. The pink color was starting to make me sick. Why did TS always insist on this color and this format for such a dull room? I got a glimpse of Kodaka as I had been lost in thought, a short person tugging at his sleeve beside him. On the long end of the rectangular table had been Kokichi, [dressed in a strange skeleton  outfit with his hair dyed white](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/danganronpa/images/c/c9/Art_Book_Scan_Danganronpa_V3_Character_Designs_Betas_Kokichi_Oma_%281%29.png/revision/latest?cb=20170530075950). By the pouty look on his face, he didn’t really like his new design. Kodaka kept seeming to try and cheer him up, offering various different items. One that struck me as odd was a book titled "Prankster Kokichi #4" which Kokichi pocketed greedily. Did Kokichi actually want some of these tropes they were trying to feed into our personas? 

 

“Well, at least I don’t look like a fucking idiot like that top candidate you have other there,” I said, pointing over at Kokichi as I laughed. His eyes narrowed down at me, tapping Kodaka’s shoulder. Nodding, Kodaka handed over a mirror to Kokichi, whom shined it on me.

 

[ My smooth black hair had been replaced by messy hair, with anime-esque points and a curly ahoge. My outfit had been switched to a mixture of ugly school boy uniform and a generic detective character. ](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/danganronpa/images/e/e3/Art_Book_Scan_Danganronpa_V3_Character_Designs_Betas_Shuichi_Saihara_%281%29.png/revision/latest?cb=20170530073551)

 

“We’ll call it even for now, hahaha. We’re still early in the designing phase, and we wanna get the looks just right before we shift you guys more into character,” TS announced, sitting at her usual place at the head of the table. Papers and and a sewing box materialized as TS sat down.

 

“May all present please take a seat? We don’t have much time today,” TS said, her tone almost sounding professional...but then she went and ruined it by reverting to Hajime. Two others came into view, Rantaro, still appearing the same, and that music chick Kaede. Her appearance looked different too. [Her previous blond hair had been dyed black, and on top of that, her outfit was a similar black to all of ours.](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/danganronpa/images/d/d7/Art_Book_Scan_Danganronpa_V3_Character_Designs_Betas_Kaede_Akamatsu_%281%29.png/revision/latest?cb=20170530095112) Was this really how characters started out? I started to wonder why Rantaro still had his same getup now? If he had been assisting in the scouting, why was he considered a participate like anyone else? His urgency in this felt too professional, like he was in leagues with Kodaka to make things feel believable.

 

“Protag two, we can’t have you space out during the Character Dev meeting. That’d be way too meta, ya’know?” TS stated, morphing into the likes of Nagito.

 

Ugh, this was going to be a long meeting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know if you like this or not. Dunno why, but I'm feeling plenty inspiration for this!
> 
> P.S Pssst, next part for Kaito's Love Hotel should be out [later this week], pass it on!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *insert generic 'another one' joke here* 
> 
> This time, we'll see some pre-game Kaede POV. Ennnnnnnjoy! Pics from Danganronpa wikia.

_ I don’t have any faith in humanity. . .  _

 

It’s lonely here. Worse, I’m not getting any intel from the supposed previous “winner” Rantaro. With the area constantly changing around me, I was never able to feel completely comfortable. I hadn’t been able to study the environment fully either.  If only something or someone was useful around here. The only other people I have interactions with were the “new participants”. So far I had only met two boys too into each other to really care for me. It’s not like I’m jealous or anything though. They should respect talent when they see it, and bow to my feet. Sadly, they just laugh. Especially the one with the really ugly hoodie.   

 

I was supposed to be a prodigy. If death were to be in my life, I would be the one calling a hit on someone or paying a high ranking assassin to kill competition. I was enrolled in the highest esteemed musical programme in the country. Worst of all, my skills would grow dull if my time would be occupied with killing. These hands of mine were meant for piano. My skin would be squandered if it had to be tainted by the bloodshed of others. I’m much too delicate for that. If the killing game had been composed of people doing my hair *tastefully*, that’d be another story. 

 

Today was one of those lucky days where I was being pampered. Despite the fact we no longer need the basics for survival(food, water, rest), my desire to be pampered was left to the dogs. It had only been satiated between struggling to act with unmotivated actors and meetings in that dreadfully pastel room. I was in a classroom as Rantaro styled my hair, braiding my bangs into a braid at the front of my head. Hopefully they would get some sense and give me blond hair since this color looked awful on me. Somewhere down the pipeline there had to be a blind person making my color palette. 

 

For a “protag one” name tag, I had such a cookie-cutter personality to match my repugnant appearance. To be nice, honest, courageous, and all these other bullshit adjectives, they were rubbish. The talk at the Character Dev meetings suggested that I was supposed to ‘break previous molds of female protagonist’ but I doubted that truth. I hadn’t played any of the Danganronpa games personally but this all felt...wrong. I could only hope they managed to add complexity to my character before I hung myself out of sheer boredom.  

 

Rantaro also, while apologizing up and down, touched various portions of my body. This resulted in my clothing becoming tighter around my breast and other areas. Must be a pervert somewhere in the decision tree for these character designs too. I apologized in return to Rantaro, to reciprocate some feigned emotion, to try and “play my character”.  I think that’s the weirdest thing here -- they seem to have to physically touch us or the thing attached to us that they want to change. Was our programming unique enough to ourselves that they had to input some sort of fingerprint recognition before altering us? 

 

“What exactly are we doing,” I asked. I was getting tired of sitting in some classroom chair while Rantaro got to play with my hair. This entire time he had been curling my hair while chopping away at my bangs. I wonder what awful design they decided to push toward management this time. 

 

“Heh, well. I guess this process can seem pretty overbearing to an outsider. My character development was much like yours, running late and going through constant changes. Once we make it to the 4th or 5th design, you should only experience a few minor changes in your appearance,” Rantaro explained, carefully styling my hair. For a guy, Rantaro seemed expertly skilled at hair. Maybe his skill could be a hair stylist, or maybe the ultimate beautician? How could those skills ever be considered useful in a killing game though? On top of that, how did he manage to survive last cycle with such a lackluster skill? 

 

“Can I ask you a question Rantaro?” I asked, biting my lip. I wanted to try and be indirect with learning more about this Danganronpa game. I knew that weirdo who goes by TS is always watching, but she only seems to come around when she feels like it. Or when the “sacred nature of the game” is being threatened. When hat boy Shuichi tried to ask some more particular questions, she went through quite a “demo” of his potential execution scene. Sufficient to say he may never go through with a murder if our memories stay in tact. On the most basic level, he wouldn’t defy TS anytime soon.  

  
  


“Shoot,” Rantaro stated, pulling his hands away from my hair as meddled with his small hair styling kit. 

 

“How did you survive the last cycle? What did you do?” I asked. Rantaro had been silent but continued to work on my hair. Was he ignoring my question? 

 

“I mean, it must be hard on you. You must have a past like us that you can’t recall. I mean, not to pry too deeply--”

 

“My siblings. They’re well cared for now. If I keep surviving and working for these people, they’ll never struggle. Their college is paid for, living expenses too,” Rantaro began to explain, seemingly out of nowhere. His hands continued to make quick work of my hair, his fingers gently touching at the fabric of my clothes in between touch ups. Ah, now I got the green-haired boy talking. Hopefully something useful will slip out those lips of his.

 

I got bored half way through Rantaro’s sob story, my mind drifting elsewhere(oh so evident at this point you could assume). My surface level involved small nods of my head with a dumb-blond-bimbo smile on my face. Sure, he had a rough past,  his mother got too busy and pissed out babies more than she could afford, blah blah blah. I just wanted to hear a strategy at this point. Playing the empathic main lead would be boring, but, if I dug deeper to gain an upper hand, it’d be lovely.

 

“...So that’s when I got dragged out into the playing field. My cycle was very...difficult. They upped the stakes a bit--” Rantaro started to speak, placing the final curl in my hair. [I felt Rantaro pull my hair upward, much further than before, making one of those weebish ahooges or whatever you call them.](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/danganronpa/images/8/8a/Art_Book_Scan_Danganronpa_V3_Character_Designs_Betas_Kaede_Akamatsu_%282%29.png/revision/latest?cb=20170530095119)

 

I heard the curling iron drop, grazing my skirt with its heat. My eyes turned to face an interesting scenario. The curling iron had landed squarely on Rantaro’s foot, starting to smoke as it burned through his shoe. 

 

“Now now Rantaro.  Run your mouth too much and one of your little ones may just, I dunno, lose a finger or two. Keep working,” a voice boomed from nowhere. My head twisted around to try and locate another face. That didn’t sound like TS at all. The woman sounded like she was teen, much younger than I would expect of a mastermind living so long. Was she the top of the food chain or at least closer than where TS was? 

 

I jumped a bit as I felt Rantaro’s hands on either one of my shoulders. 

 

“Guess they don’t like it when I talk too much. I apologize,” Rantaro said, leaning forward to pluck the iron from his foot. One of his hands remained on my shoulder, likely for support.  

 

“Hehehe. You remind me a lot of myself when I was younger, well, the first me. I’m excited to work with you,” a voice said. It's the same one as before! This time around, the voice echoed, as if it had been bouncing off the insides of my skull. But, how? Why?

 

Just as I opened my mouth to speak, I heard the voice call out in my head again.

 

“There’s no reason to use verbal words. I’m already inside of you. Hehe, I know, I know, I need to buy you dinner first. But then again, you don’t need to eat! Haha, whatever, please deal with my usual inappropriateness.  Ask me anything you want to know. Trust me, I have some strong feelings about your current design too,” the voice spoke out again. Who exactly was this person? 

 

‘Uh, hi I guess? Why are you in my head?’ I asked inside my own head as Rantaro returned to designing me. 

 

“Magic is all I’ll say for now. Tell you what, after the next meeting you have, we’ll review how to best survive this place. So then you’re guaranteed a comfy spot like Rantaro has right now,” the voice called out again, seeming to speed through the area around me. Even Rantaro seemed to be moving at three times the pace he was before. Was this the person truly manipulating my senses, the time around us, everything? 

 

‘Okay,’ I said inside my head, the environment around me gradually winding down until I was back at the dreadfully pink table again.

 

“Are we ready to begin, huh, huh, huuuuuh?!?” a hyper voice spoke out, TS appearing to be some sort of faux goth of the sorts. I took a look around the table to see if anyone elses designs changed recently as well. 

 

“Whatever it takes to get us out of these horrendous fucking character designs,” said the now hood-less shorter boy. I think his name is Kokichi. [His Hot Topic outfit had been replaced with a bit more refined look, with a black-and-white checkered scarf. I guess we are slowly getting there.](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/danganronpa/images/1/1d/Art_Book_Scan_Danganronpa_V3_Character_Designs_Betas_Kokichi_Oma_%282%29.png/revision/latest?cb=20170530075957)

 

“For once I actually agree with you,” muttered Shuichi, his haircut looking less messy. [The buttons on his outfit felt a bit more personal, and not nearly as generic as before.](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/danganronpa/images/8/8b/Art_Book_Scan_Danganronpa_V3_Character_Designs_Betas_Shuichi_Saihara_%282%29.png/revision/latest?cb=20170530073558) Kodaka was sitting in between Shuichi and I this time instead of Rantaro as usual. I took another look around to table to notice he was missing this time around.

 

“Ah, Rantaro, absent? I'll need to followup with him after the meeting, we can't wait for him at such an important juncture,” TS spoke, morphing into a blond with glasses and then reverting to a smaller built blond in a tuxedo, “Now let’s stop the idle chat and start making some fucking moves here!” 

Just you wait TS, I’ll be talking to your supervising official and making my way up the chain. I’ll be the best killing game personnel you’ve ever designed. And, just maybe, take that seat of yours from right under your nose! 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah idk why I keep writing these either. New Love Hotel stuff soon, I promise!!! 
> 
> Also another series gonna be slapping yall right in the back of the head(different fandom tho) sometime tomorrow.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yup, guess whose here?

“Shuichiii~” 

 

“What is it, Kokichi? I’m getting really tired of hearing random facts about your charac--”

 

“He’s a Gemini! Just like me! Ah, I’m so glad. ‘Seems like they really changed direction with us, right? I’m glad they trashed that ‘dark and 2edgy4me’ motif they had with our outfits. I can’t promise I’ll keep this white outfit stain free, however,” Kokichi ranted, giving himself the go ahead to ignore my request. What exactly was this “Team Danganronpa” turning Kokichi into? 

 

The more time we spent here, the more it felt like he was getting smaller. In both the physical and literal sense, Kokichi turned into some sort of caricature of himself. Like the team had been trying to *really* make him into some sort of troll. His hair was worse than before, a brighter purple with gravity defying spikes. [His clothes were now a strange mixture between a GoodWill outfit and something Hot Topic would have on the clearance aisle.](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/danganronpa/images/4/49/NDRV3_Art_Gallery_Kokichi_Ouma.png/revision/latest?cb=20170927210800) If there was one thing Kaede and I could agree about, it was that our previous designs were awful. Kokichi’s previous designs were agreed to be the worst monstrosity known to us relating to Danganronpa. Despite Kaede’s evident ritzy lifestyle, among her desire to “only touch the finer things in life”, her knowledge of lore was extensive. Perhaps she could be a threat?  

  
  


“Direction? My designs have stayed mostly the same since that 2nd rework. [Seems like they’ve been working on making my hair look less ‘angular’](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/danganronpa/images/b/b4/Art_Book_Scan_Danganronpa_V3_Character_Designs_Betas_Shuichi_Saihara_%284%29.png/revision/latest?cb=20170530073615),” I responded, plucking a single blade of grass they generated for us today. It’s been countless hours, days, or maybe even months since we were stuck in this stupid place.

  
  


My personality seems to be tearing at the seams. I would slip into bouts of anger, disgust, and hatred for Kaede. I couldn’t figure out if I had initially hated her or if the fictional character I was to be wanted to despise her. And, my feelings have become more confused for Kokichi. Had I always been so attached to him or had I typically been apprehensive? Was I supposed to completely abandon my human persona and pick up this completely fictional one at the drop of a hat? Kokichi seemed to easily mold into his, but, I guess with a reality as shitty as his, anything would be better.

 

I’m not sure if this will ever come to be a killing game. What happens to us if the game doesn’t happen, I wonder? Would we be forced back into our regular lives as if nothing had  ever happened? I guess, then, Kokichi’s wish wouldn’t be granted...oh jeez, I’m doing that typical protag zone out shit. I should really pay attention to what Kokichi is trying to say.

 

“I’m alsoooo supposed to be a little shit, prankster and whatnot. Kind of like Konohamaru but if I was a billion times sexier and didn’t have a hard-on for the protagonist,” Kokichi went on, probably saying this bit to get under my skin. I turned to him, a silly smirk on his face. Whatever the case may be, deep down, Kokichi had to be there somewhere. 

 

I reached down to grab either side of Kokichi’s shoulders, shaking him gently. Kokichi had been laying flat against the grass, laughing as I shook him. Flashes of the last time we ended up in a field came into my mind.

 

_ Better get used to it, this is our lives now. Our lives are their entertainment. _

 

What if TS was messing with my perception again?

 

“Whaaat, you know that was a lie, right?! Barring anything past down by management, I’ll still be yours ya’know? Even if it ends up being that one-sided love Nagito had to settle for,” Kokichi said, his eyes peering up at me. Something in his eyes still reminded me of that doe eyed boy I met in middle school. Could TS really replicate that type of emotion provocation? 

 

I reached out toward Kokichi, but he had tackled me down before I had the chance to grab him. We started rolling around the field, play fighting. Said fighting ended up turning into an intense cuddling session as we both stare toward the sky. 

 

“It’s really sad, that the sky is just one big lie here,” I mused, cradling Kokichi’s figure. 

 

“At least it’s a pretty lie! I’ve been looking at nothing but darkness and the empty pit that will be my soul for the past whatever,” Kokichi said, his joyful tone contrasting greatly with the words he had been saying, “But that’s a lie too, Nishishishi!” I didn’t want to bother chasing down to see if it were a lie or not; the answer wouldn’t be direct either way. And that horse laugh was really, really dumb. Whoever thought of that has a strange sense of humor. The best thing I could do is change the subject.

 

“What is fresh air even like anymore,” I muttered, holding Kokichi close to me. I felt Kokichi’s arms wrap around me, his face nuzzling my chest. 

 

“Doesn’t matter to us; we’re on a one way ticket to hell,” Kokichi replied, his voice soft as his head snuck underneath my shirt. 

 

“H-Hey, you dunno who could be watching,” I reprimanded, attempting to pry Kokichi away from my bare chest. That didn’t stop Kokichi from pinning me down somehow with his weight, sneaking his way to my upper chest.

 

“It doesn’t have to be that way,” Kokichi whispered. Those words jolted the image of TS back into my mind, my hands reaching to throw the supposed Kokichi off of my body. I knew it. This had to be another mind game. 

 

“Annnnd scene!” TS shouted from one end of a large pink table...wait…

 

I sat up straight as I watched the room convert from a field to the usual, dull meeting room. Kokichi was still propped inside my shirt, pinching my--OW! The room suddenly filled with laughter, from familiar voices I had heard many times before.

 

I took one final glance around the room before plunging Kokichi in his usual spot. Kaede seemed to have changed into a blondie again -- perfect for her idiotic tendencies. [Kaede was now dressed in a pink vest and some other ‘valley girl’ dressing idiosyncrasies](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/danganronpa/images/d/d0/NDRV3_Art_Gallery_Kaede_Akamatsu.png/revision/latest?cb=20170927211456). Maybe they were finally realizing her true worth as a protag would be as a dumb one. Wonder if there’s ever been a protagonist dumb enough to fail a class trial and get their classmates killed? She’d make quite the fine first for it--and I should and do mean that in a totally non sexual way...dammit...these emotions, feelings, actions, how much of this could I really control? 

 

I stretched, still grumbling over such an embarrassing moment a few minutes ago. A small part of me felt different, as if the previous moment Kokichi and I were involved was in a dream-like state. With the lack sleep or any other nourishing activity, most of the time I’ve spent in here still feels like a long dream. Or a very unrealistic dormitory for young actors. Or, if I went waaay off the rails, a complex VR reality showcase.

 

“At least some of our main cast is starting to feel the hot sensation of young love!” spoke an all too familiar voice. Kokichi and I’s eyes connected instantly at the sound, trying to locate the source. A black-and-white bear dropped from the ceiling from a hidden hatch...I’d never thought I’d see the bear in the flesh.

 

“Monokuma, at your service! Now that these characters are getting closer to their final touches, it’s always important that their lovely headmaster gets some clout in shaping their futures,” Monokuma ranted, walking around the table as I took a close look at all of us. His face seemed serious, taking one  long look at each other us, slipping out snarky lines every moment or so. From only the video game lense I watched the bear through, I knew better than to try and attack the thing.

 

“From now on, we’ll have what’s called a Monokuma shadowing our meetings. As you take on more of your character in looks, personality, and actions, Monokuma will start injecting small ‘one-liners’ into your usual vernacular. These are usually what you hear characters say in video games during the lulls in plot or lack of funding, like,” TS explained, reverting to the shape of Sonia, “Please listen!”  

 

Kokichi laughed heartily as the Kaede and I sat in silence. Of course he loves this stuff. Just another step in the plan of course...another step in the whole “forget myself” scheme. 

 

“Ooo, me first, me first,” Kokichi called out to Monokuma, who turned around with a monocle on his left eye. Kokichi stard at Monokuma’s face for a few minutes, seeming to be stopped in time somehow. 

 

I glanced around the room, Kodaka still in place of Rantaro. Ever since the past few meetings, TS has stressed that Rantaro needs “a more personal touch”. I tried to pry more, but, last time I did I was met to my demise. TS appeared to also have the ability to trigger our execution events in the space we were end, which could effectively kill us and bring us back to life in some hellish cycle. 

 

“That’s mean,” Kokichi muttered, snapping me out of a near traumatic remembrance of the previous execution I had undergone. 

 

“Ugh, not quite right, but we’ll get there,” groaned Monokuma, stepping away from Kokichi. At first Kokichi starts to reach out to the bear once more, but pulls his hand back quickly. His eyes shoot to the ground, a dejected look on his face. What was Kokichi’s issue that caused him to feel so invested in this character design sessions?  

 

Next up was Kaede, and whatever she did well(which was sound as brain dead as her looks prescribed) Monokuma enjoyed very much.

 

“Now it’s your turn, Shuichi, upupup, this should prove interesting,” Monokuma said, walking over to me and peering over with his monocle. 

 

What am I supposed to...

do…

Here…

 

“Huh?” I said, the word bubbling up from nowhere. Monokuma gave me several nods, stretching out his hand. 

 

“Well, I think it’s clear who are protagonists are!” Monokuma said in an overly cheery tone, shaking my hand and then Kaedes. 

 

“Soon enough, you’ll be reciting your filler lines all the time...repeatedly...for hours…” Monokuma stated, slowing down his statement, “...until I mute you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can't have Danganronpa fanfic without Monokuma showing up! 
> 
> I hope you guys are enjoying the series. : ) Comment like and stuff so I know people actually like reading these or not.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welp, this happened! Probably gonna edit the tags a bit due to this and following chapters. Things are getting real, and at some point, the rest of the cast will join us for some pre-game metaness. : D Thanks for sticking for so long those who bother to read daily.

 

Darkness. White noise, and then some static showing. The static continues, ‘snow’ on the TV for several minutes. 

 

And, after what one could coin as a ruined tape, more darkness. Translucent Lines constantly run down the screen.

 

“Authorized Viewers Only! Restricted Access to ***** **** the 53rd and the scouting team,” red text reads, bolded and underlined.  

 

The screen flickers a couple of times before resting on a middle aged man. The man on the screen appeared traditional in every sense, sitting with his legs tucked underneath his figure. Four empty cups sit in front of him, a sake container half full. The room itself appeared normal as well, decked out in formal Japanese furniture. A small table constant has different weapons rearrange until a small knife is left near the man’s  stomach.

 

A close up is done, in quick flickers of the screen. A name tag attached to the middle aged man reads, “TC Father”. The screen flickers black, then back to snow, then abruptly shows the same man with several stab wounds. 

 

“I...won’t read your script. I’m terribly sorry, but those words won’t stirr my son,” the man spoke, his tone stiff as blood spews from his mouth, “He’s strong. Kokichi, please...stay strong. Protect your friends. And most of al--” 

 

Blood streaks the screen. Silence.

 

The screen flickers several times, reverting back to the darkness. 

 

And then soon after, a series of bright lights shine.  An elderly couple appears on screen. Five flickers of the screen show a closeup of their name tags, “Protag two ma” “Protag two pa” respectively.

 

“It really warms our hearts that ⬤x∆□ made the mark for your little program. He’s been a bit of a reckless boy since high school started around, but we knew...we knew…” the elderly man started to speak, but then tears of blood begin to seep from his eye sockets. The womens eyes were completely gone at certain points of the camera angle changing. 

 

“We’ve always known...always…” the two now chant in unison, swirls appearing where their eyes should be. The elderly couple appear to be overcome with despair, the last few frames before darkness showing them stabbing each other to death.

 

Darkness...a few frames of snow, and then a young blond couple, appearing to be a mixture between German, American, and Japanese.  The room the couple is in is strangely unkempt, seeming to be covered in Kaede’s pink vest. The woman is dressed in a form fitting grey business suit. The male had been dressed in a sauve matching grey suit.

 

“Of course you rush your way out of here, leaving such a disgusting mess. But, if this is how you wish to rise to fame,” the blond woman says, idly kicking at a vest on the ground. A few frames later the blond couple have a variety of stab wounds in them.

 

“I don’t think our delicate little pumpkin will handle this. She’ll die first for sure. Maybe even a suicide attempt or two. And, don’t you think calling her a main protagonist is a bit much?” the blond man said  tilting his head as he looked directly at the camera. Their wounds continue to bleed out. The blond couple give judgemental looks at the camera, seeming to ignore the fatal wounds across their body.

 

“My little girl can barely take criticism, how well do you think she’ll receive to such a difficult task,” the blonde said, streaks of blood now in her hair,”She’ll just wilt like a perennial in autumn. Though, something’s telling me she’ll always spring back...how about...one last bad pun?” 

 

Blood completely covers the screen, the TV flickering off.

 

“Well, did that p-p-put everyone in a d-despair m-mood?” TS asked the three students, transforming into Mikan. While TS made herself look innocent by taking on such a cute character, the looks on everyone in the room knew otherwise.

 

“Those are all lies,” Shuichi yelled out, standing up from his chair as he pointed toward the now flinching TS. Kaede stood up soon after, though Kokichi seemed to be staying comfy in his chair.  Kokichi tapped at the desk in a rhythmic motion. 

 

“My parents do not look like that, I am sure,” Kaede said, “I used to have naturally black hair.” 

 

Where did the truth and lie connect and mix up? How far gone were the soon to be fictional characters? 

 

“Oh really? How many times have I showed each of you your character design sheets? Jeez, it’s like your brains aren’t just failing at absorbing your roles, but their basic duties too,” TS said, reverting to appear like Mahiru. Kokichi remained quiet, staying in his seat with his arms crossed. 

 

“Then why aren’t our names on their name tags? Why are they in such specific places? And what’s with all those jump cuts?” Shuichi asked. TS reverted back to her usual form, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose.

 

“Do you really want to fall deeper into despair, Shuichi? How much more digging will you do before you realize you’re in too deep?” TS said, obscuring her eyes with one of her hands.

 

“If learning the truth means falling to despair, then give me all you’ve got!” Shuichi replied,  walking closer to TS. Kaede looked over, blinking before walking over to TS as well. Kokichi stayed seated, a bored look on his face. The tune he had been beating increasing in speed.

 

“Those tapes are the way they are because all humans are, by nature, very similar. Remember what I said about ‘high risk areas’? There are many people like you all. Scared of their reality, scarred from the results of life. People who can easily be snatched up, parents who mate in predictable ways,” TS explained, her appearance morphing to look like Genocide Jill, “Because of this we get lots of footage slicin’ and dicin’ parents. Another result, often, is monetary compensation. Some parents are okay with wealth replacing snot-nosed brats!”

Shuichi stopped for a moment, closing his eyes to fully intake what TS just implied. Shuichi opened his eyes a few seconds later, turning to see Kaede on her knees beside him.

 

“We...there’s no way! That’s wrong!” Kaede said, seeming to reject the statement TS had just made. 

 

“Wait, there’s more everyone,” TS stated as Chihiro but then turning to Ishimaru, “Humanity, people, communities, when analytics get high tech enough, you can predict just about anything you want! In fact, for this audition for cycle 53 of Danganronpa, there’s 154 of each of you. We’re being cautious this cycle to account for deaths along the way.  Your audition events aren’t too far off you know, and if you fail there, well, you get what all failed graduates get…” 

 

“Punishment! Murder! Despair!” yelled out Monokuma, seeming to drop down from the ceiling. 

 

Kokichi’s eyes blinked twice, shaking his head furiously. He gazed around the table to see everyone dressed as they had been before, with a few different accessories. They had smiles on their faces, laughing and chatting as if the previous scene never occurred. Monokuma had the usual one liner monocle on, peering into the eyes of his classmates to force out fodder lines.

 

“I think everyone is here now, so we’ll begin review for auditions right away,” TS stated, posing as Gundham, “If we’re to survive the final cut, we need to make sure everyone has their plans down pat! We must all go in as one being, one entity in the giant cosmos. Otherwise, we will all fail!” 

 

Kaede and Shuichi gave each other knowing nods, Kokichi gradually ending the taps at his fingertips. 

 

‘So that’s how it works...how annoying,” Kokichi thought, looking down at the pastel table as a list of lines and images appeared below him. 

 

‘Since you sound super smart and bored, I’ll let you know something! I gotta keep my top candidate happy,’ said a small voice in Kokichi’s head. It sounded too familiar to the boy: Junko Enoshima’s shrill voice was never to be mistaken. 

 

‘What is it,’ Kokichi asked, flashing a smile at the surgical masked Rantaro. After his multitude of absences,  one could clearly see how refreshed Kokichi had been with Rantaro’s renewed presence. 

 

‘Well, you knooow that there are a crapton of people auditioning for our 53rd cycle, right? Well, let me inform you of one rule that’s stayed true as blood since the first reality cycle. The top candidate…’ the voice reeled, TS pointing at some graphs and brandishing historical data on past protagonists.

 

‘Yeah yeah, whatever. Just get to the point,’ Kokichi said, seeming to dismiss the voice as his eyes focused onto Rantaro. 

 

‘Well, you’re the only you. No one to beat there. In fact, you and Rantaro actually get some alone time for once when auditions start. Top Candidates and survivors get some fringe benefits, you see,” the voice continued on, but Kokichi blocked it out until he heard something of interest again, ‘And during the 3 day timespan of the auditions, you and Rantaro get to lay down a strategy unique to the game. For the first time in 50 cycles, you two will get a few chances in gameplay to regain memories and this particular game plan. So, be sure not to spend your entire three days lusting over that bod!”

 

Kokichi visibly grits his teeth at Junko’s voice, gripping the edge of the table in front of him. 

 

“Is something the matter Kokichi?” asked TS, bending over the table to make eye contact with Kokichi. 

 

‘I’m not that stupid, I still have *some* loyalty to Shuichi, ya’know?’ Kokichi thought as he said, “Nope, just thought of how many cuties going by the name Shuichi Saihara are gonna be there~!” 

 

Shuichi, from the other end of the table, sighed at the comment. Somewhere in that fiction and lies, were the true feelings. Somewhere through the constant hope and despair loops, deep within the tapes of parents being slaughtered by Team Danganronpa. Shuichi Saihara still existed, the one from reality, refused to lend himself over to his fiction just yet. 

 

‘Suuure. I can see, feel, and understand everything Kokichi. That especially includes you,’ Junko whispered, seemingly directly in the boy’s ear, ‘But...when it comes to that audition, I have my own scouting to do. So I’ll leave you and grass-head to your work. Well, if you choose to do any that is!’ 

 

Kokichi grumbled at the voice in his head one more time before switching back to his usual self. If it wasn’t evident by the way Kokichi flare his scarf to cover most of his face, or how his gaze struggled away from Rantaro, it was visible on Shuichi’s waning smile. 

 

Something was bound to happen during the auditions, for better or for worse. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are gonna start getting intense soon! And, if you do...*whispers* **math**, you'll find a lie Junko gave someone last chapter.
> 
> Enjoy!

Dear Current Subscriber: 

  
  


It pleases me that I, Junko Enoshima the 53rd, am able to kick off this years auditions on time. It has been a tedious task to ensure all two thousand(and five!) participants are aligned perfectly. Unlike last years tasteless presentation and poor management, we have taken the needed precautions to avoid similar results to last cycle.

 

Each audition, per usual, we start with our actors introducing themselves and giving their best sob story to our panelist. They will be divided by character groups( **not training groups** ) to ensure there are no surprises. After the first and second audition, the two finalists will be tested one last time by yours truly! Once our final cast has been chosen, please be patient as we produce the finest killing game experience for you! The average time it takes to produce, create, and stream the killing game ranges from six months to 2.5 years! 

 

A new addition of this year’s audition will be the immediate slaughter of the losing actors. Those who fail the first and second trial of auditions will be immediately slaughtered once results show up on the screen. Each participant will have a form fitting wristband on their left hand, injecting poison directly into their bloodstream. Once put in their body, they will explode into a beautiful mixture of pixels and pink goop! 

 

As usual, the lucky students who have been personally trained by Team Danganronpa will be labeled with the usual Monokuma  signage when they step up to audition. You should find this symbol in the left hand corner of your viewing device. While I am consistently pleased with the character content that particular group has made, it does not deter me from other teams who have worked hard to procure the finest candidates. One team has personally, disregarding my strong dissenting opinion, spent their entire budget on building a robot boy! Be sure to see how he functions and watch for additional guidance when the audience participant icon shows up! For reference, here is how it will be presented: 

 

 

I’d like to end this letter with your usual reminder in regards to confidentiality and how we protect your enjoyment. The live stream of this event will only be available to devices requested earlier last year. If you have forgotten to order your device, this will be your last chance to order! Input the link below to order your viewing device with express delivery! Due to this being a highly specialized device, compounded with the cost of keeping the packaging discreet, we will only accept payment in BiteCoin. 

 

Thank you for your continued viewership! Per usual, this letter will also have heavy legal language attached to it. Feel free to discard or file the additional paperwork via any avenue you desire.

Until Audition Day, Yours Truly

  
_J.E.5.3_

JUNKO ENOSHIMA 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know in the comments if you have any suggestions/specific character auditions you wanna see!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neew Chapter~! Needed to up the rating for what I have in store the next few days of the audition!

Today was painful. All of a sudden TS decided to give us back our full memory. It’s been difficult to cope with the constant personality changes within me. It’s sorta bullshit that I had my personality replaced in the first place. Who did that blue-haired cunt think she is? My body felt worse  once I had been introduced to my old memories. During scenes we ran today, I kept switching between normal me and this fictional persona of me. My body often struggled to follow through with what I actually wanted. For example, TS had to drag me here today because I refused to leave my room. Oh, yeah, we have rooms now. Apparently of all the high tech things they can do, they can’t organize what our rooms for the killing game will look like. I kept mine simple. Our talent rooms, however, were designed by high-end roleplayers from across the world. Mine happened to be a pretentious fuck that “ironically” decorated my talent room with things to use to kill others. Poison, the most stupid killing device ever in a video games, was put in my room without a second thought.  After getting really pissed off there, I was dragged off by TS into a classroom. After that, Kokichi was walked here with Rantaro(Kodaka likely is on the panel for whatever this fucking audition entails).

 

The classroom had been strange, the desk arranged in a circle. The chalkboard wasn’t a traditional one; it had been replaced with a high tech board with a blue landing screen. I hadn’t been let near it due to TS insisting we needed to take pictures before the auditions tomorrow. Well, whatever tomorrow comes. Time was hard to track here. My old personality had nothing to help or offer when it came to getting my bearings in such a weird electronic space. 

 

Another weird quirk about the current classroom I was in was the desk arrangement. All of the desk were arranged in a circle, with lighting fixtures all around them. Kokichi and I sitting next to each other, the light from all the equipment starting to piss me off. 

 

“I bet they’re setting up for our headshots for the audition,” Kokichi said, smiling as he adjusted his scarf, “I think we’ll at least be shot fairly this way.”

 

“Then where’s the blonde bitch then,” I questioned, my eyes scanning the room for other personnel. It appeared empty besides the two of us. I didn’t understand this at all. It would be helpful if those assholes running this could give us clear directions. But, no, apparently this would all lead up to some big despair-inducing event.  I looked over at Kokichi now, whom seemed to have frown on his face. What was the matter with him? Kokichi placed both of his hands on either one of my shoulders, his face staring up at mine. 

 

“Ah, don’t talk to your lover like that! She’s yours, remember,” Kokichi stated, his lips frowning. He looked serious. Was Kokichi being a dick or did he actually not regain his memory of our past?

 

“Er, sure for the game. But, in reality…” I said, leaning closer to Kokichi’s face. I watched as his face turned scarlet, closing his eyes as we met for a kiss. I heard several cameras flicker as our lips met, my eyes opening and looking around at the flashes. 

 

Once my eyes settled from the brightness, I saw TS and Kokichi standing next to each other. I looked to see who had really been in front of me. Of course, it had to be the blonde bitch instead of my actual person of interest. 

 

“There we are! We have all the pictures we need for your picture reference book! Are we excited for auditions, everyone,” TS asked, morphing into Sayaka. 

  
“Why give us back our memory if we’re just going to lose it again,” Kaede said, seeming just as upset as I am.

 

“Yeah, and at least warn me before I’m forced to kiss blondie,” I added, exchanging intense glares with Kaede and TS. TS just laughed. Her eyes felt cold when she looked at me with a serious stare. I tried to glare back at her in attempts to show something of a backbone. I was tired of playing the pantsy they oh so desired. When I saw that TS was moving her shoulder, my eyes followed her hand.

 

On the desk in front of TS lay a black-and-white folder with a Monokuma plastered on the front. TS placed her index finger over the eye, causing the file to blink red before being absorbed into the desk. 

 

Before I was able to voice further complaints, I felt the area around me shift. 

 

A surge of heat and cold collided in my body, my vision blurring to darkness. The cold of a summer night had overtaken my exposed skin, my body holding something warm, small, and squishy...my eyes tried to focus, but the most I could make out is purple hair. 

 

“Koki..chi? I think I just woke up from a bad dream,” I muttered, noticing the low battery notice flash on the vita screen. I saw the purple hair turn into a face. As it got closer, it did turn out to be him. I could feel a smile form from my lips, and for the first time, I actually *felt* real. I could feel the warmth from inside my body, blood pumping from and to all corners. I could feel the weight in my eyelids, struggling to stay awake. I could feel my hands securely around Kokichi’s waist. 

 

“I don’t want to waste time. After this, our lives will be at the whim of some stupid adults...this is the only moment we get,” Kokichi whispered to me. As Kokichi adjusted himself in my hold, I could feel his body begin to pin me down against the treehouse wall.  Despite his small stature, Kokichi seemed stronger than usual.

 

“Take me, detective,” Kokichi said, his voice soft but demanding.

 

I could feel fingers pull at the buttons on my uniform. I wanted to grin, but for some reason, it felt like something was overriding my body. My hands stayed at their sides, only moving when Kokichi slipped off my shirt.

 

I could feel Kokichi shift to straddle one of my legs, his knee grinding against my groin. I jerked back, hitting the wooden wall of the treehouse several times before Kokichi held me steady against his knee. 

 

As much as I wanted this, to say all the things I wanted to when Kokichi wasn’t ready, it felt like there was cotton in my mouth. I hadn’t been the slightest bit nervous. My hands wanted to explore many areas of Kokichi. Before all of this, before we were thrown into this madness...it was Kokichi who was too scared to do anything. He kept ranting and raving about parent paranoia, the stink in the treehouse, if Keebo or Rantaro stopped by and watched, and any bad scenario in between the spectrum. 

 

But, as Kokichi’s knee teased me, my body felt helpless to his touch. I was beginning to suspect there being an error with porting my consciousness back into my human-esque body when my hands jolted to slap Kokichi’s back, grinding his knee further against my groin. I let out a soft groan, looking up top the treehouse. How much of this would I end up remembering? Why were we giving up so easily to the team and doing stuff like this instead? 

 

I felt Kokichi’s lips glide against my neck now, leaving bite marks along the way. 

 

“I better make sure that cunt Kaede knows who you belong to,” muttered Kokichi between bites, before crashing into my lips. 

 

I hadn’t wanted to give up, but I also didn’t want to miss this chance. Kokichi was always too nervous to go further than 2nd base with me. I guess, with the prospect of dying in front of us, we had to make due with whatever freedom they gave us.

 

.   . . 

 

“Are you sure it’s ok to let  #154 and the top candidate use their bodies for the night? What if they decide to run off,” asked #2002. I scoffed at such a question, pounding my cane into the marble flooring. Around me were people scrambling to get the place looking just right for tomorrow. My throne room had to be best, of course, passed down 52 generations. My help staff had to help the current event staff, which could easily surpass one thousand. But I couldn’t retain a dedicated team like last cycle, or else disaster may strike. I needed to keep tasks as spread out as possible to avoid any colluding. If  this cycle was anything like the last, I’d make a mockery of who I am. Who I stand for. What I believe in.

 

The throne chair was being polished as I sat down, multiple teams of mine were rushing about and discussing different sections of tomorrow.  

 

The blue haired, glasses wearing, oddly average girl in front of me was on one knee. It was tradition for candidates and participants to address us like this. Otherwise, they’d be killed off or otherwise disposed off. Her eyes appeared distant as they stared at the marble flooring underneath her. If she hadn’t been in cahoots with Team Danganronpa, I would’ve killed her on the spot. And, I guess, I saw her as worthy of going through auditions. We can’t let cycle 52 be repeated at any cost. I’m anxious, ok? What if we fuck up and let a fucking, er, I won’t spoil it. Not to myself and not for anyone out there who like secrets. I needed to keep my head cool and confident. I had to find the perfect vessel to make this the best killing game yet.

  
“Duh. Those two boys think they’re gonna die tomorrow. What’s the point of speeding up that process? I’m not gonna like let #154 die a virgin with what promise he’s shown during training,” I answered, a few of my assistants crowding my hair. Guess I am  cutting it a bit close with my personal presentation. They’re using those ultra-HD cameras this year so any imperfection will be viewed for the entire black market.   
  


“Perfect and impeccable as usual, dear Junko.When should I fetch their data for tomorrow?” #2002 asked, her eyes still to the floor. 

  
  


“Promptly at 5AM. Once their data is loaded back in, they will likely forget the event ever happened. Despair inducing, right? To force them into their old bodies, let them fuck, and then have them forget it ever happened?” I replied, laughing loudly. I listened as that laugh echoed onward, between those who worked for me and the natural good acoustics of my throne room. Ah, how beautiful it feels to be alive and living on the Junko legacy. 

 

“Yes, understood. Andyes, very despair inducing...perhaps, something we could incorporate that in the killing game?” #2002 said, starting to stand on her two feet. I wasn’t expecting her to keep rattling on, but, she did make an interesting point. Besides Cycle 27, there had been no legal cotial relations setting for the participants. And the despair that could come from it...it would be a possibility good enough for any remaining funds post production. I couldn’t let  #2002 get away with leaving her respectful position. A smirk curled up from my face, a cutsy look overtaking my persona. 

 

“Ah. Speaking out of turn, I see?” I said, pressing a button on the side of my throne. Large spikes shot from the ground, scrambling the data and pixels of #2002.  

  
  


“Y҉ę͚̣͇͇̻͇̤s̛͉̯͇̮͙̪,̘̥͓͈̝̝̬͠ ̮͍̕I͍͇̥͔̖̺ ̷̙̖̱̭̲͎̦lo̤̙͚͞ͅv̹̱e̙͇͢ͅ ̴t̪͉͍h̬͇̜̦̱̙͜i҉̰͎̖͙͙̜ͅs͔̰̤̩͢

͕̰͉̥͡

͕̜̜͇̼D̵͖̹̠̘͇E͕̼͎̬͍̞S̖P҉͔̰̳̮͖̞A͓̗̦͠I͉͝R͖Ḑ̯̹͖̬̥̬E̪̫̥̱S͈̫͎̩P̖A̞̣̥͓I̠R̲̯̙͉͡D̵̰Ȩ̟͉S̱̦̱̕P̩͕̩̗̪̙͟ĄỊ̳̥̮͠RD͉̱̠͖E̱̱̣͉̼̭S̰͍̖̝̮̜P̫̺̻͜AI͇̙̖̥̳̝͈͘R̮̫D̪͕̜̼͎̗ͅE͚͎̜͓͔͚S̖̖̞P̧̭̝̩͈̙̖A̖͈̘̬͎͍I̬͙R̥D̜E̯̞̫̹͍ͅS̡͔̳͙͈P̧̦̗̻A͔̣I̟̤̩͚͉͈̘R͕” #2002 voice still managed to speak out, the dead pixels causing her voice to sound more like some sort of vaporwave song. Huh. I guesss I should fix her. She does need to load back in #154 and the top candidate. 

 

“Assistants, fix #2002 so she can proceed with wor--” I began to say, but the dumb cunt couldn’t stop saying despair. Her words were beginning to dirty my throne room, random black pixels scattering against the marble floor. It was disgusting but….so despair inducing. So beautiful. So honest. 

 

“Also, advance her roster to the 2nd audition,” I added, footsteps rushing across the room with their fair share of paperwork. This should prove to be interesting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *shameless advertisement*
> 
> Do you like the Love Hotels from DRV3? Do you wish they were longer, smuttier, and/or despair-inducing for Kokichi? 
> 
> I have a series that I write love hotels for, here's the link if interested: 
> 
> Here's another link if you're interested in being a guest writer in the summer for one of the characters(not written yet): https://goo.gl/forms/WqxGLrg54cskb2wm2
> 
> And, as always, thanks for reading!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! We're getting a new pre-game person! ^O^ Text in italics come from the audition tapes from DRV3. I'll post a link below for reference.
> 
> Audition tapes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7vRlM9S2SA&t=54s

I was dressed in my usual school uniform with my red T-shirt underneath.  My feet felt like they were dragging along with the other two people in my cohort. I had no control. I had nothing. This sucks. I started to try and yell out, but another voice spoke in my mind.

 

“Oh shush! We’re like, totally controlling you to go to the right place! We wouldn’t make you break our own rules, silly,” said an overly feminine voice in my mind, and apparently over some loud speaker too.  I balled my hands into fists, tempted to punch whatever force that was in my body out of it. Why did they think we’d be taken over so easily? Why was it so easy for them to do in the first place? 

 

Jesus fuck. Where am I exactly? I was kept in a dark room for a while, and now, I was being let into a stadium of the sorts. The outside of the stadium had a huge line of lights around it, blinding me from seeing much further detail. I saw thousands of high schoolers being brought in at once. All of them had different facial expressions(a select few appeared delighted to be here). If this was actually a football game as the stadium suggests, I’d be as happy as some of these fucks. But, no, this was our reality. Auditioning for a killing game we never asked to be in. I had no clue of the rules. All I knew was I’d either survive in the game or die here. That’s what MT told me. The green haired cunt had been digitally showing herself as a kid. Apparently it’s a callback from one of the “fictional” characters in Danganronpa. Everyone involved in this was so willing to give me the hour long backstory to this black market mess. For an event like this to happen every four years, it’s no wonder that the police don’t catch these freaks. It wouldn’t shock me if they helped run the show. My hands were in shackles in front of me, my body being moved along by some outer force still. Ever since that day where I had been walking home from school, about to beat the  shitout of my ex’s new boyfriend, everything got blurry. My mind went blank before waking up in a green room with a large rectangular table. I met the person behind and in front of me at that time. 

 

The girl’s name was Maki. Or, what she remembered her name to be at least. She was a fighter, and while I respected her moves, she came from poverty. I couldn’t let dirt like that touch me too deeply. I had to keep my eyes on my affluent ex girlfriend if my dreams of easy fame and riches are to come true. Anyway, Maki started out swinging at the MT kid. Right when I woke up I saw her attacking the green haired brat. MT somehow managed to artfully fight back, pinning Maki on the ground and explaining our fate. Another  person, a guy who was about half my height rocking some serious emo fashion, sat around most days. Whenever I tried small chat he just kept brooding that his life “was a mistake he was constantly trying to fix”. The one good thing around here had to be the chicks. If I was to die soon, at least there were plenty babes for me to gawk at. My neck and other joints turned automatically, but, my eyes could still see babes for miles!

 

Velvet carpeting along with other high-quality shit lined the hallways. Was this legit black market? Was I going to sell myself to some organ sellers, bulk drug dealers, the big shots in the underground market? The area around me went dark occasionally, my eyes losing sight of Maki. Whoever was the control mastermind behind this, they must be especially trying hard to keep Maki under lock and key. Half the time, in whatever computer sim we’re in, Maki managed to break out of control and constantly kick at the walls. What a weird girl. What the hell would the walls do if they broke, “magically let us out”? 

 

I, personally, am always looking for the time in this place. I hadn’t been able to keep count of the amount of time I spent “crafting” my character, but I know one thing. I won’t let myself die here! I haven’t even gotten the chance to live out my dream! 

 

My eyes began to look over the thousands of students gathered here, wearing a variety of different high school uniforms. We had exited the hallway to a well-lit convention center of the sorts, nice flooring, and even lines of each participating cohort.  How many students did they manage to kidnap? How was this even done without the Amber Alert system going off at least 200 times? I wanted to fight back, but it’s like my body and mind were seperated for now. My legs were beginning to pull away from the others, heading toward another dark hallway. I saw Maki’s body turn briefly toward me, her eyes filled with nothingness. It was always hard to pinpoint what was on her mind. Once my body fully was directed toward the new hallway, I had to cut through a few lines of cute girls. 

 

As I studied the students being shuffled around awkwardly like me, I noticed a familiar face. A blonde, wearing a navy-blue uniform(from Shining Star Academy) with an array of hair clips. Her skirt was shorter than most, likely pulled upward per her usual style. They...they got my ex here too? My free meal ticket, my dream girl, the prodigy I was going to ride the coattails of? I gritted my teeth, wishing I could move more of  my body’s limbs or at least say something. If that chick was here too, then, how was I supposed to return to the easy life after this? I didn’t need to worry about the impossible if it meant I’d go home to a girl like her. As I entered a new hallway, I saw vague shadows of other people I had been following.

 

“All Kaito Momota’s are on track to be the debut audition! Please line up in accordance to your number. You will only get one chance to sell your character, and then the waiting time begins! Once you see results, well, if you survive...you’re lucky. If not, ta ta!~” A voice screamed out over the loudspeakers. The voice sounded like an annoying preppy student from my high school. Wouldn’t shock me if one of had parents that let them do black market stuff like this. 

 

There were lights every now and then as I proceeded forward. From the brief introductions in light, I noticed something strange. It was as if different copies of me were in a single file line. Sure, they were wearing different high school uniforms but they all appeared similar to me. Their face, weight, stature, among other items were glaringly similar to my own. I know actors often had stunt doubles but this was ridiculous! How was I supposed to differentiate myself from this assholes? Worse, the more we shuffled around, the closer to the top I had been getting. What was my number anyway? I started counting the number of people in front of me, stepping aside toward the walls of the hallway to let me walk through. 

 

There’s at least a hundred of us here...this is crazy. How do so many people in the world exist with my similar body structure? Did they all come from different parts of the world from kidnappers too? There were so many questions I wanted to ask, but, my mouth was sealed tight by whoever was controlling my movements. Was my name anything other than Kaito before coming here? I can’t...even remember that anymore. What a shame.

 

I could feel my heart race as my body started to move closer to the start of the line. Why, this wasn’t fair, why me…first? Of the others here, I had to be the one to jump head first into this disgusting act of begging for my life. As I got placed in front of  shorter version of myself, I noticed a door in front. It had been wooden, with a metal doorknob. I couldn’t hear a thing from beyond the door. A single light bulb was positioned above it, its bright yellow hue keeping my vision clear. I tried my best, but, my neck couldn’t move to see what all was behind me...the army of freaks who looked just like me. Did they have my same voice? Did they sound different? All of this was overwhelming. All I wanted was an easy life. I just wanted to pick back up and beat the shit out of that green-haired bastard that stole my girlfriend! 

 

If I could only speak, and voice out some strong words, I could have followers...and we could bust out of this place.

“Hello Kaito’s! When you see the light bulb over the door turn purple, please enter! Further instructions will be relayed once you are in the room. Don’t bother closing the door, it’s automatic,” a female voice spoke, again, an annoying preppy voice. And, as foretold, the light bulb at top turned purple. I suddenly felt control snap back in me.

 

I took a look at those behind me. I grinned, showing my teeth and all the handsomeness I had to sell for myself.

 

“Good luck,” I said to them, their looks a mixture of confusion and fear. I placed my hand on the doorknob, twisting it as I stepped forward. Psyching out the competition was one way I could give myself an edge. 

 

As I entered the room, it was completely dark. Once my hand had let go of the knob, it felt like I was floating in space.

 

“Kaito Momota…#1. Your audition will start in 60 seconds. This is your allocated time to pray to any God or Gods you believe in. This is also time to rehearse how you will answer the following question: Winning Danganronpa promises the graduatee(or survivors) fame and fortune for years to come. What are your plans in order to win this near impossible game of Danganronpa?” an automated prompt stated, a large red timer showing up in front of me. My feet felt like they were actually on some sort of ground now! Awesome! Of all the vague bullshit I’ve been fed so far, here’s my actual test! And survivors -- does that mean I could still survive with my ex at the end of this?  But if I still game fame from winning and killing everything, would she even matter? Or could I survive by using her as a meat shield? Either way, from the sounds of it, I could still achieve my dreams with this! Only, I won’t be this Kaito they want. Rather...I’ll be *myself*. Katio Momota, from this point forward, is my identity. 

 

I won’t be fake or any type of character they’ve been forcing me to be. I’m gonna show them that I’m the *real* Kaito, and all of those behind me are fakes. 

 

I could make out my face in the large red timer, purple hair spiked up per usual. I had to practice my award winning smile first. Ok, good. I cleared my throat several times, stretching and smirking as I watched the clock tick down to zero. 

 

The room suddenly became bright, a wooden floor showing itself underneath me as I spoke into a camera on a tripod. 

 

“ _ I’m not just gonna be in Danganronpa, I’m gonna kill everybody and win! Once I’ve got fame and fortune, I don’t gotta worry about what’s impossible, _ ” I began, giving the camera a thumbs up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kaito will be written as quite the dick in this, gets worse in later chapters. You have been warned!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now we get Rantaro's POV o: 
> 
> Enjooooy!

The Funeral room. When my loved one brought this up during the killing game, I had the same look Kokichi’s giving me right now. A room where the mastermind isn’t allowed, and on top of that, Junko is never welcomed. It was a place I wish the entire world could fit in. But that isn’t realistic. 

 

The room had one bed in the middle with whiteboards instead of walls to enclose us. There was a trap door in the floor’s corner which served as the entrance. This room was placed at the highest point of the audition stadium, with noise cancellation and absolutely no other way for others to get in. The flooring had been whiteboard, too, markers resting against a golden bell labeled “Food”. I had been shaking just taking off my shoes, my memory racing with thousands of events. Maybe I wasn't lucky for remembering the past so and so cycles. I remember reaching out for my mom as I watched her climb her way into this room. The blood...the bodies...Kokichi grabbed my hand, snapping me out of my flashback moment. 

 

“Are we really safe in here?” Kokichi questioned, tilting his head. I nodded to him, gently trying to slide my hand out of his grasp. But, Kokichi’s grip only got tighter as he tried his best to push me onto the bed. When my eyes connected to Kokichi’s once more, I felt myself lose the strength to fight. Something in those eyes reminded me of  _ her _ .

 

“Answer me,” Kokichi demanded, pressing his body against mine on the bed. I closed my eyes tight,  trying to counteract the flood of memories with my current reality. I had to focus if we were going to get anything done here. 

 

“Yes. This is the room where the top candidate and the previous cycle informants can plan. We only have three days to think of a strategy for the game,” I explained with my eyes closed, doing my best to deter anymore memories from invading my mind. This wasn’t the time to think about my family or pity myself for what happened. The entire reason I’m here now is to prevent this from ever happening again. 

 

I felt Kokichi’s palm enter the bottom of my shirt, his fingers fanning out. Each finger pressed a different part of my chest, seeming to be checking for something. Maybe for  a wire? But why would he ask me if this place was safe and then immediately check for wires?

 

“You could just say you don’t trust me,” I said, “But we need to start making our plan to end this killing game soon.” I stayed still, in hopes to gain more of Kokichi’s trust this way, as his hands patted me down. Barring some overly indulgent squeezes in inappropriate places, it wasn’t too long until Kokichi’s weight was off of me. I opened my eyes and saw the blank ceiling, Kokichi tapping my left shoulder. 

 

“Ok, I believe you. Now how do we plan?” Kokichi asked, sitting beside me. As I moved up to sit as well, Kokichi’s arm stretched above my chest. 

 

“I’ll do all the writing, you just lay there and look pretty. I said I _believed you_ , not trust you,” Kokichi spoke, bitterness leaking from each word. It was understandable at the least, though, the situation still felt unfair. 

 

“Again, you could’ve just said you don’t trust me,” I repeated, crossing my arms as I stared up at the ceiling. Kokichi’s palm moved to cover my vision, slamming down against my head. As I struggled to get Kokichi’s hand off me, small legs straddled my hips. My vision was impaired by Kokichi’s palm, but I was more than certain he wasn’t wiggling around just to gain balance. 

 

“Hmm, sounds like you really want me to trust you. How about some of that avacado dick to gain my trust then?” Kokichi said with a sniveling chuckle. I turned my head away but Kokichi’s hand just pulled my head back to him. I know we designed him this way, not entirely his fault, but I was starting to get upset.

 

“Whaaat? Where’s that super serious tone of yours,” Kokichi teased. I could feel his body wiggle around, grinding against my groin. I closed my eyes to concentrate, beginning my count to 1000 to distract me further. Maybe if I just start speaking, this’ll all go in the right direction?

 

“For the first plan--” 

 

“What about trust, huuuh?” Kokichi teased some more, a pinch of sadness added to his voice, “Are you really going to let me die a virgin?!?” I grumbled at his words, being able to call out this lie at least. I felt Kokichi’s hand move, my eyes opening to see what exactly Kokichi was doing.Streams of tears came from Kokichi’s eyes, the faux sadness Kodaka crafted at work. It came off as dishonest, knowing his current personality, but I had to keep trying. Kokichi and I needed a plan before we were set loose in a killing game. My eyes proceeded to scan his body further(for science, of course). 

 

Kokichi somehow managed to take his shirt off during our exchange, his pants still on but unzipped and haphazardly placed. Of all things, Kokichi’s mind was not in the right place. How could I convince Kokichi to get out of his character and actually talk to me about our plan? Hopefully, after calling him out, things would go in the right direction.

 

“I was the one assigned to watch you and your boyfriend last night. Don’t play dumb,” I replied, Kokichi’s crying face clearing up instantaneously. His face still looked sad, though, his water works had stopped completely. 

 

“...Are you really gonna let me die a _virtual_ virgin,” Kokichi cried out, his tears starting to pour out again. Ugh. I guess I’ll need to shut the poor boy up somehow. I quickly pushed myself upward, crashing my lips against Kokichi’s. My arms wrapped around his figure tight. While my mouth had Kokichi shushed(and hopefully satiated), I needed think of a plan before Kokichi got anymore ideas. 

 

How could I begin explaining to him how important it was for us to come up with a strategy to dismantle this game? Once we exited this room, time would stop and only start once the killing game was to begin. I had to get Kokichi down to his most sensible state of mind. I needed to analyze what Kokichi has been like so far.

 

At first, he played out his character of being a liar. I broke down that wall to find another,  much whiner boy. How much longer would it take?

 

As I pulled my lips off of Kokichi, I scanned his face for a reaction. His face appeared cherry red, eyes looking downward as he sputtered some words off. 

 

“Huh? What was that? You’re gonna have to speak up, Kokichi,” I teased this time, keeping my hold around him tight as my forehead rested against his. I could hear his heartbeat pounding, the pixels in his current avatar likely seconds away from losing their form. Hah, maybe that’d be over exaggerating things. 

 

“A-About that first plan you were going on about,” Kokichi mumbled, speaking a bit louder than he had before. His eyes were still toward the ground, not looking at me.

 

One of my hands slid off from his body. I could feel his body jump slightly at the change, his forehead bumping against mine for a bit. 

 

I glided my fingers across the bottom of his chin. I savored the sound of his whimpers, though, I should probably get to the point soon. It was fun, teasing the supposed “Ultimate Supreme Leader”, we had work to do. 

 

“Mhm, we’re on our first plan. Do you think you could handle writing for a bit,” I whispered, making sure my eyes communicated a flare of romanticism. This is how it works, right? When people have attraction to someone?  

 

I watched Kokichi give a small nod, shivering again as my arms fled from his body. My mind, now being left to stir ideas, began to wander back to my objective...my objective...sister. Just wait a little longer. 

 

I promise I’ll find you. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed this chapter X3 This is my first time writing from Rantaro's POV, so let me know how I did! I felt like I did okayish, but probably could improve a lot.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wooo, more asshole Kaito. I hope you enjoy : )
> 
> warning, this chapter has some gore.

Once my time had elapsed, the lights went out. When I tried to feel around me to get my bearings, two bright white cloaks grabbed me from underneath my arms. I grumbled, but complied, not wanting my distaste to spoil my chances. Being Kaito Momota wouldn’t be so bad anyway. Heck, I don’t even remember who I was before that name was shoved down my throat. I know I liked sports. I know I liked movies and television too. Maybe I was just...normal. I gave my pup Chip a kiss before heading out to school every day. I think I may have even won a trophy or two for my athleticism. But, from what I recall, nothing I ever did pegged me as worthy to be in a killing game. Or this title of Kaito Momota. Whatever, I guess.

 

The white cloaks continued to guide me through the darkness. My mind began to wander to my ex, Kaede. Was that really her name though or her character’s name? I’m not really sure to be honest. When we first met, about a year ago, her appearance stood out more than her name. Her eyes called me to from across the train, begging for me to talk to her. I remember squeezing my way past the crowd of people just to stand beside her. Of course, I’m no creep so I didn’t try anything too early. Our schools were nearby which meant I could easily play truant and be the bad boy. Kaede took a liking to me so quickly, too, inviting me out to places for me to relish her in constant praise. Ah; that easy life would’ve been my dream. But, now I have a few added roadblocks. Now I had to find my way out of this darkness. And then, survive the first round. Then survive the second round. And then beat out the others in the killing game. Easy, just four steps until the easy life would be granted to me. 

 

I felt one of the cloaks press their hand against my chest. I stopped moving to comply  as best I could.The sound of machinery overcame the current silence and steps. Thin lines of light began to outline a door in front of me and the white cloak personnel. Was this finally my waiting area? A rhythmic sound of beats rang out into the quiet, the thin lines of light becoming much wider. 

 

Once there was a noticeably longer beep, the room in front of me felt almost too bright. I kept blinking, hoping my eyes would adjust sooner rather than later.  The two in white shoved me forward, the door behind me closing quickly. I rubbed my eyes with my hands, struggling to make sense of the room around me. The walls had been a strange mixture of black and white, with random streaks of red where the other two colors met.  

 

The room was as big as fifty of my school gyms combined. The room seemed to endlessly stretch forward. As I took my first step, I felt myself a weird texture underneath my feet. I took a closer look and noticed there had been a thin layer of plastic. Before I questioned the placement, I recalled what the losers ‘punishment’ had been if we lost the audition. I cracked a smile at this, beginning to feel around the floor for any openings in the plastic. I started to hear the door open and close again, over and over, but I had to push that thought out of my mind. I had to keep my ex Kaede in mind. What Kaede would like. What Kaede wouldn’t like. She was my queen in this game, and if I had to keep her as a possible resource, I needed to keep myself clean. While I had been searching for an opening to the plastic, I found out an interesting fact about this large room. There had been a total of 26 streaks. Was that the number of survivors that there would be? My fingers finally found a bit of an opening near one of the furthermost corners of the room. Most people crowded around the door we all entered from, though that’d likely be a bad move. They stood close to each other, like this was some sort of cohort we could be best buds in. Idiots. Once bodies start exploding, limbs will start flying! 

 

I found myself a nice secluded corner with moveable plastic, making sure no one dared talked to me. What’s the point of being friends with anyone of these fuckers anyway? They’re all going to die. Well, besides those who pass the audition. I saw a few others take a similar approach to me, finding corners or secluded areas to deter others from standing too close. I kept a kneeling position next to my corner, keeping the plastic on the floor above my fingers. I needed to have easy access if the explosion were to randomly occur.  I started to notice the auditioners become more antsy the more people entered the room. We must be nearing the end of the line. And, after one of the shorter versions of me entered, the door behind the guy shut tight with metal. Some idiots decided it best to start clawing it at it with their hands. I lifted the plastic from the floor a bit, preparing for my quick entry. 

“And now, the moment we’ve all been waiting for! The results for our first character, Kaito Momota,” yelled that preppy voice from before.

 

As the voice began to cackle over the loudspeaker, my eyes were brought to the slim bracelet wrapped around my wrist. The fit felt tight, a small slit of red where my vein was. So this is what will kill the losers, huh?  

 

“Ten...nine...eight...like, say your final prayers now, losers~, seven…” the high pitched voice counted. If the announcer was the mastermind for this sort of event, maybe dying would be the best option. I bet she’d be some preppy girl, early teens, getting her first chance at running daddy’s illegal human trafficking organization. Maybe this is a sign of the times we live in. Or, maybe, it’s a sign of how humanity has given up on itself with such bullshit events like this. I quickly started to slide myself underneath the plastic,being careful to cover my entire body. I kept my eyes open to see through the plastic, seeing several others do the same thing. Dammit -- if they explode, there’d be a risk I’d get some of their disgusting blood on me! Well, I’ll just hope they’re not as dumb as the group near the door trying to leave. 

 

I closed my eyes as I heard the voice countdown to 2, bracing myself for the explosions. I’d live, of course, but I’d rather not see human bodies fling across the room.  I heard a variety explosions go off around me, as well as some annoying shrill yelling. And, of course, that teenage girl’s sniveling laughter. I wasn’t sure what the next test would imply. If it had anything to do with my looks, well then, I’d probably win for sure!  Whatever would come, I needed to be ready to fight for my life. Once I get those riches they talked about earlier, I’d be safe from ever having to work this hard again. As the explosions continued, I felt some blood skitter above me. More and more of it came my way, idiots still alive running in circles as if they had no other way of showing their excitement. Even if they did survive by some stroke of luck or late exploding, they should’ve known to close their eyes. Hide under plastic. Stay clean and free of all the filth that failed. 

 

I decided to give myself a bit more time underneath here, in case there would be any late exploders. And, I assumed, the preppy bitch would make another announcement for an all clear. 

 

“Congratulations, final 25, you’ve moved onto the next audition! The second round will start promptly after the next 11 auditions. Sit tight, ok,” the girl's voice blared out again, annoying high pitched and cheeky. My eyes slowly opened to the bloodbath that occurred only seconds ago. Sure, there were only streaks of blood on the plastic above me, but there must’ve been worse once I got up. 

 

As I pulled myself up and peeled the plastic layer off from me, my suspicions were affirmed. Body parts were flung to every other part of the room,busted pieces of heads, arms, fingers without hands, bodies without limbs, limbs without digits...awful. I’ll smile though. Just to freak out those other 24. Most of those who survived hid under the plastic, like me, while others appeared to be shivering, blood soaked. One guy in particular had been taller than me, crying as he held an disembodied arm. Poor guy. Maybe the hand he’s holding was a guy he spoke to for like, I dunno, an hour? 

 

I looked around the room, watching as one of the red streaks manipulated itself into a door. Could this be a fictional reality or was this still the virtual world? White cloaks began to gesture us to leave, coming from the other side.

 

I started to walk toward the exit, careful to side step any squishy or otherwise disgusting materials. I couldn’t have trash on the ground taint me, hah, yeah! I kept my smirk plastered on my face, ensuring to look at anyone that crossed my path directly in the eye. Yeah, I gotta keep psyching them out! Then I’d win this game for sure! I kept my ears opened as I heard a variety of conversations spark.

 

“Hey, something’s off. The chick said 11 but they’re supposed to be 16 students total.”

 

“Yeah? And? I ain’t complainin’. I just wanna be one student, I don’t have time to care about where the other 3 are gonna come from.” 

 

“Danganronpa is a traditional killing game of sixteen participants though. If we’re missing part of the cast, then this’ll all fall to pieces.” 

 

“Dude, shut the fuck up. People literally just exploded. Fuck off…” 

 

The variety of comments felt human, or at least something resembling how most people would react. Twenty-four other high school students managed to pass along with me. How else could I psych them out? I needed to stay alive to keep the easy life dream alive. No matter what. 

 

As I crossed the threshold to the other side,  the room style completely changed. The walls were now black, furniture matching the color to a tee. Besides the other Kaito’s exiting with me, I noticed a familiar smiling blonde cunt. I gave her a warm smile, running up to her.  I opened my arms wide, preparing to pick her up bridal style. This was like a movie ending, or rather, the build up exposition for my character.

 

“A-Ah, Kaito! I’m glad you survived,” Kaede said, a grin on her face too. I could feel the other Kaito’s eyes the back of my head. Good; feel all those terrible emotions. Get too distracted to act your part. I made my grin as wide as I could make it. 

 

When I got close to Kaede, she put her hand out in front of her body like a stop sign. 

 

“What?” I asked, gesturing toward my pristine body. Sure, my feet were a little bloody, but, I was mostly unscathed as I shouted for everyone to hear, “Don’t want a hug from your perfect boyfriend? Oh, I’m sorry, ex boyfriend!” 

 

“I...I want something more,” Kaede mumbled, looking down with a scarlet blush across her cheek. Ah yeah, this day just keeps getting better! I kept my grin, hell, I’d make it wider if I could, as I smooched my ex. Her lips felt like fire against my mine, pressing through with her tongue...mmm…

 

After a few minutes of satisfying tongue kissing, I took a look over her shoulder. I saw a weirdly dressed boy with one hair sticking up from his head. His eyes were aimed toward the ground, looking as if he had been loneliness incarnate. 

 

“So, you got another new boyfriend? Man, it’s getting hard to keep up Kaede,” I said, though half-jokingly. This guy was dead if he was even on a huggable basis. 

 

“No, and my old one was a piece of shit. He’s actually one of the main ones running this shitshow,” Kaede replied, crossing her arms as she had a pouty look on her face. You know, despite the killing and all, she still looked pretty cute! 

 

I took a seat next to Kaede, sitting on a plush chair. 

 

“When’s your audition,” I asked. 

 

“Me and Shuichi got passes for the 1st round. So we’re just killing time like you now,” Kaede said, seeming passive as her head leaned against me. I stayed quiet as I ran my hand through her hair. I wonder what type of connections that new friend of hers has to get her pass the first round. I needed to play nice if I wanted to share some of those benefits! 

 

I guess I should play nice until the 2nd room, and hopefully, I was already sitting with 2 of the 12 killing game members. I took another glance over at the Shuichi kid, still not acknowledging my presence. Huh, well, I’ll definitely change that during the killing game!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know if there's any characters you'd like to visit during their auditions! 
> 
> Ooor if you just want more Rantaro Kokichi game planning O:


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello! This will be the first chapter for the audience participation thing! I'll review how many votes stuff has when I get off of work tomorrow(usually around 5pm central US time) and write the chapter based off of that answer. I hope you enjoy!

 

“And that’ll do it for the today folks! Six auditions are set for tomorrow. And, for those who’ve watched before, you know what the 2nd day is known for,” an announcer yells into their mic. Black hair dangles slightly above multiple chords and screens below the announcer. Most screens are soaked with blood while others are blocked by body parts.There is also an open envelope in the middle of the screens, decorated with a heart and the name “Junko 5*3*”. Tips of knives can be seen from the top of the paper.

 

The announcer sits in a bright pink box. The box itself appears just big enough to fit their body. Large, grey circles swirl in the announcer’s eyes. Throughout the live stream, the announcer managed to chatter the entire time, not leaving a second of image without commentary. Their words would come out quick or very slow,dragging slowly during times of extreme gore. The announcer begins to shiver (seemingly out of excitement) as they speak into the mic the number and names of those who have passed onto the next round. From inside the stadium the auditioners appear unaware of what the announcer is saying, despite the bright pink box being stationed in the midst of the crowd. 

 

“Junko Enoshima the 53rd will be officially crowned tomorrow at midnight,” the announcer said, plucking a knife from the envelope, “Central U.S. time.” A smirk formed on the announcer’s face as the mic was dropped. The announcer grabs a headset with their free hand, placing it over their long hair.

 

“For those somehow ignorant of Danganronpa tradition, I shall inform you of the event happening tomorrow. Since the inception of the real-life killing games, it was realized after the fifth cycle that an artificial Junko is too easily manipulated and copied. With the gracious help of the remnants of SCS, they managed to make a conscious AI which would act to be the Junko we’ve all come to love. Due to the complexity of her code, we must put her to rest for a few years between killing games. Compounded with the need for sponsors, booking a venue, and scouting talent, we erected a rigorous process to give you, the audience, a quality killing game. Junko has come to us in different forms throughout the years, as anime characters, political figures, celebrities, even at times animals! The process of introducing the new type of Junko is always a heavily anticipated event. During the middle of the casting cycle, we remove Junko from her slumber to assist us in the flesh to pick out the finest killing game competitors. We must wake Junko up by offering her a body to her usual standards, which is typically done via a separate audition. Once Junko’s consciousness has accepted a proper husk,it is seen as the kickoff of a new killing game!”

 

The announcer points the knife toward their throat, smiling maniacally at the screens below them.

 

“Ah~. It has been an honor to serve you all. For now I must do what all announcers do for these things,” the announcer says, giggling as the sound of cutting flesh is broadcasted out to the audience, “Die.”

 

The floor of the pink box is soon opened, allowing for the now bleeding body to free fall into the darkness. Online forums and discussion boards officially open at the click of a button. A timer shows in the pink box now, counting down from 12 hours. This timer is shown across the screens the announcer had been previously referencing. Through the blood stained headset, sounds of cheers and merriment could he heard from those joining in on the stream.

 

.   .   .

* * *

 

  
  


Friends. Those must be nice to have. I sat alone while the other kids crowded around other areas.  I wish the professor were here to help me out in times like this.

 

I was placed in a large stadium not too long ago. After some people in white cloaks poked around my body, they ushered me into an open space. There were a lot of kids my supposed age, so I got excited. I hadn’t gotten the chance to talk to others my age since I was created. I was smiling(er, the best a robot could do to smile) and I tried my best to greet everyone equally at first. But then, they were all just so rude.

 

“Leave me alone, weirdo.”

 

“What are you supposed to be? A fucking plot device?”

 

“Talk about a free pass. I bet your body’s not even set to blow up at all.”

 

But, even as I went across the crowd and found those of interest, some people had strange faces as the conversation continued. When a group got me talking about my functions and specs, I saw them grin. 

 

“Hmm, and which part of you is the one the professor had to do several redesigns of?” 

 

“How about that, you can’t do…” 

 

“That’s really funny, I’m allergic to peanut butter. What chemical or substances are you allergic to?”

 

I thought they were simply happy before I saw their arms reach out to me. They would pound against my metal. Tinker with my body as if it were some sort of toy.  At that point I’d rush off in a separate direction, losing them in the crowd of students.It didn’t take me long to realize friends are hard to make. Despite what the professor said, there weren’t that many friendly students here at all.

 

I was sitting near the black wall I was pushed out of. Part of me was tempted to use some of my combat weapons to blow myself out of here...but...then the professor wouldn’t be happy. The professor would lose the grants he got to build me. 

 

“Keebo, you must remember. I am a very poor man. But I do love you. I just...had to hand you off to the one who paid the most. I’d love to continue raising you as my son, but I picked the wrong year to make one. Try to make friends, support them, love them, protect them. Most of all...don’t forget. There are good humans out there, like me. No matter how many awful people you may meet there.” 

 

I had to remember the professors words. And the researcher’s, too. Amy and Shelly, Ronald and Kevin; all of them told me such good advice on how to make friends. Now I just had to find the right people to make into friends. 

 

I started to scan the crowd, hoping to find a smaller group to chat with. Or maybe starting with just one person would build up my confidence to speak to groups again?

([Click here to initiate audience participation survey!](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe4IvcSmk4ywCAYJH3JeW8uF5EsiXXZg4yWSjCGDtLmoBrNjA/viewform?usp=sf_link))

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Annnd Keebo is now here ^.^


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's the new chapter, with the results of the survey and a link to a new one! I hope you have enjoyed this series thus far! ^.^

A room is separated by a thick panel of glass. It is considered the yin and yang of the auditions. No larger than the average classroom, one side of the room had been near dark, lit by a single candle. It is common practice to give each auditioned the same amount of time, usually limited to how long a candle’s flame could last during the audition. The other side was bright, a mic placed upon a mic stand. Candidates were personally brought into this room for this role, something that a hardcore fan could only dream of. The darker room contained a variety of shadows, four being panelist with the 5th being of a small radio of the sorts. The radio  shined one red dot near its base. A square had been carved out in one of the corners, serving as an exit. For, well, those cases like last cycle when [redactedredactedredacted]. Oh...oooh. So, I can’t [REDACTED]? Ok. Fine.

 

Some would say that this is the pinnacle of the audition cycle, or at least the climax. With this first round of auditions done and the 2nd wrapping up, a blue-haired girl awkwardly held a mic at its base. Candidate #2002 looked like a fetish, a dream, some sort of girl who knew she was going to be judged by four middle aged men. Dressed in her high school uniform(a navy blue skirt with a white blouse, accented with a light blue collar), the girl answered each question so far to the tee. The panelist had to be silent during the questions, leaving their notes on paper. Red ink covers her audition paperwork. Her skirt was hiked up to barely show off her panties, her eyes shy as she often looked to the ground or at one of the walls. With her glasses resting against the bridge of her nose, Candidate #2002 could prove promising. The interview started with basic questions, asking about lore of Danganronpa and trivia of Junko Enoshima. Then came the mandatory spiel about losing control of one’s body and essentially dying to become one with Junko. And, finally, the behavioral questions brought the interview to a close.

 

“I’ve always considered myself a purist to the most extreme extent. The original games is where I draw most of my inspiration. The killing game has continuously tried to outdo or rehash a story that’s been told best through its game platform status.I wish to reawaken the roots of Danganronpa, taking a grass roots approach to things if you will, in order to evoke feelings of nostalgia and excitement throughout the fanbase. This will cause our growing fanbase to enjoin with the older portion. With my knowledge of game lore, extensive cosplay capabilities, among other skill sets I’ve described earlier, I think I’d make the perfect candidate to host Junko’s conscious,” Candidate #2002 spoke into the microphone. A panel of four shadow figures sat close to the glass pane. Papers were being marked with black ink now. The flame of the burning candle was nearing the bottom of its golden basin, signaling the end of the interview. Candidate #2002 stood awkwardly, her hands loosely gripping the microphone stand. A series of beeps could be heard from the darker room, seeming to activate something in the brighter room.

 

A gust of wind blew in the bright room, causing blue hair to flip carelessly across the Candidate’s face. There’s a beep soon after, the wind ceasing as the Candidate’s hair gradually falls back into place.  

 

Whispers erupt after Candidate #2002 completes the remainder of the behavior questions.

 

“Eh, I guess I see her appeal. But #1048 and #1953 were really good too…”   
  


“She’s a weeb, dude, perfect for shit like this. Do you know how many people are gonna have her as a waifu?”

 

“Man, the tits of #1953 were bigger though.”   
  


“It’s not just about the tits, dude, we’re responsible for picking a competent mastermind. If she’s got big tits but goes ‘uhhhhhhhhhh’ every five seconds of the game, she’s totally useless for any real work. ”

 

“Ok, sure, whatever...What do you think, you’d be stuck in this body, Junko?” 

 

A radio transmitter switches from shining a small red light to a green one. 

 

“Can’t you guys, like, see? She’s freakin’ perfect,” a voice emits from the radio communicator, “She’s adorable. Plain enough where the participants wouldn’t suspect her as the mastermind. Since she’s been such an avid fan, she’ll probably do well with meta jokes. And, since you’ve been thinking with your dicks the entire time, the brain underneath that hair has been lost on you all.” 

 

The panel erupts in more conversation after the voice finishes, papers being passed down the four shadowy panelists to the radio. In a strange act of technology or magic, the papers whoosh away into the radio. 

 

“Ummm….” Candidate #2002 says, leaning herself over the mic. The panelists pause with their review, looking up through the glass pane. 

 

Through the dim lighting, they see her perched over the mic, blue hair covering her face. 

 

“There’s one more question, isn’t there?” Candidate #2002 asks. And, with that, the lights in the dark room flicker on...

 

**.        .        .**

* * *

 

****

 

As I scanned the crowd for a friend to make, I notice a crowd of girls. They were in a circle not too far for me, laughing. They all looked the same; long blonde hair with blue eyes. They appeared to be kicking at something in the middle of a circle. 

 

“Dumb bitch, being coy like that won’t get you a seat at the class trial!”

 

“Why won’t you act like you’re supposed to and try not to be so different, bitch?”

 

“Maybe this is why you survived, the panelists must’ve pitied you, bitch!” 

 

As I heard a girl cry out, something told me to go search further. To help the person that was in need.

 

I stood up and walked over to the circle of girls. I needed to be assertive in situations like this. Whoever was being kicked in the middle of the circle did not deserve poor treatment! No human deserves to feel pain!

 

As I approached the girls, I activated my bright eye function. While it served no combat use, if I present myself properly, I could deter the girls from harassing further.

 

As my eyes clicked onto their bright neon light phase, I shined the light  directly in the middle of the circle. This drew their attention at me, though, the girl in the middle was still hidden by the quantity of females surrounding her. 

 

“Ooo, a robot. Finally something our genius could be used on!”

 

“Maybe we could program it to fuck us?”   
  
“...Really #124? Gonna go that route?”

 

“I mean...it’s possible.”

  
“Well, even if it is possible, the…”

 

The conversation kept proceeding toward an exceedingly perverse territory. I took a step forward every now and then, trying to keep my gaze focused on what was past the group of blonde-haired girls. There was a girl there, I know it, in pain, I had to bear through this to get to her.

 

Once the girls became fully engrossed on what material would make the right...phallic object, I reverted my eyes back to my normal brightness setting. I moved through them, quickly, to see an injured girl barely able to push herself up.

 

Dressed in an autumn colored uniform with a yellow bow on her chest, her skirt was partially ripped on one side. The girl’s blouse was ripped down the middle. Parts of her undergarments could be seen, but her hands covered them as she staggered to a stand.

 

“Are you ok,” I asked, reaching out my hand to assist the girl. She shook her head shyly, turning and running the opposite direction to me. 

 

I took a look behind at me, noticing the girls from before glaring. Ah, perhaps it would be better to get out of their presence? 

 

After tailing the injured girl for several minutes, she finally stopped near another resting area. There appeared to be much less people around here, with a variety of different auditioners chatting amongst each other. 

 

“Miu #84, pleased to meet you,” the girl said suddenly, her arm outstretched toward my face. I pulled back out of fear mostly. Would she toy with me like those others did? I watched her face pull into a frown, tears beginning to form near the corner of her eyes.

 

“A-Ah, don’t cry! I saved you from those girls, didn’t I,” I said, hoping to keep the girls emotions calm. But it only appeared to aggravate her more. A loud, boisterous cry came from her lips, her legs beginning to buckle as she tried to run away. How do people like to be comforted, I had to think fast! 

 

I reached out my hand to place on her shoulder, attempting to pull her closer. It appeared to be the correct action to make, as Miu #84 pressed herself close against me. My eye wandered to the others in the room, several of them giving me grins.

“If a robot could get some action here, why would you give me anyway?”

 

“I told you -- Kaito #1, until we make it out of here, you get nothing!” 

 

“Sounds like you really are quite the charmer, Mister ‘Luminary of the Stars’. Still trying to pitch that talent?”

 

“Oh, you, you can shut up right now Maki! I got a theory for you right now!  Your name rhymes with Pocky! Poor people like to name their kids things they can’t afford! So you’re family was too poor to afford fuckin Pocky, so there!” 

 

Banter continued from that direction, or at least the loudest talk I could hear in this hallway. 

 

“Well, you’re not being too kind mister robot. Usually people tell each other their names when they’re trying to make friends,” the girl pressed against my chest said, tapping at my back. I shivered, feeling a bit uneasy with the girl tapping at my back panels. What if she had the abilities to deconstruct me? But...out of all the people here, she asked my name. No one has asked me that yet.

 

Telling someone your name must feel wonderful! Powerful! Like you’re speaking your namesake into the universe! Heh, or maybe that’s just me being socially awkward and...making my first friend. Hah, that word, friend, I’m making one! I’ll make you proud, professor! 

 

“K1-B0 is my name,” I said, proudly, looking down at the girl. Her face pulls off of my chest, a half smile on her face. 

 

“I think you need a nickname. Keebo sounds cute, doesn’t it,” Miu #84 suggested. Did we just skip fifty steps in the friendship making process or am I just getting really good at it!?! 

 

Maybe I should try and make more friends?!?

  


([Click here to initiate audience participation survey!](https://goo.gl/forms/upgFxsv5YWWSt2i02))

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope you guys are enjoying this series. Leave comments or kudos or whatever to show what you like/don't like. ^-^


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Whew, new chapter! Worked hard on this one. I hope everyone enjoys! Results of the survey at the top of the chapter.

 

 

Miu and I found a black and white couch to rest on. It was far enough from others not to draw attention, but close enough to others in case those girls came back to bully her. I was nearly 99.999% positive that someone in the room we were now in would intervene if that were to happen!  Something in my head told me that friendship needed more time to develop. When I suggested Miu #84 get her clothes fixed with the help of one of the nicer girls, she declined.

 

“I’d rather not have some girl staring at my chest for too long,” Miu #84 said, clutching my shoulders with her hands, “It’ll feel gross. My entire character is gross.”

 

I wanted to object to the manner which Miu #84 spoke of herself, but I refreshed myself of the rules here. Humans had to audition for a particular character in a killing game. If they fail to convince the judge of their worth, they are executed. If they succeed, they are able to live and participate in the killing game. But, the word audition makes it sound like they want to be here. From the stories I’ve heard before meeting Miu #84, no one wanted to be here. They were kidnapped, drugged, sold by their parents, among other reasons. I wondered how this had been going on for so long, how they managed to kidnap such a large scale of teenagers as myself. But, my inner voice told me not to think about it too much. That’s right, my inner voice will always be there to guide me! Without it, my mind would run wild with the endless possibilities the world had to offer.

 

Right now, with Miu #84 holding me like this, I felt comfortable. I eased myself against the couch, twisting my body in whatever way Miu #84 felt most comfortable. The loud people were still chatting, but my inner voice helped me block out their voices.

 

There was still a nagging feeling though, in the depths of my mind, to make new friends. Learn more about people. Learn more about Miu. But...did I really want to proceed so quickly with this friendship? Or quickly make new friends? Our bond could easily be broken if I made the wrong action.

 

“S-So Keebo. Do you know anyone else here,” Miu #84 asked, her face leaning against my shoulder. Her hands gingerly touched my back, seeming to fan over my back panels(especially the middle of my back). I felt as if I could...trust her. I did save her anyway, so it would make sense for a human to trust someone with their secrets, right?

 

“Sadly, I don't know anyone. I was built by a professor who owed a lot of money to loan sharks. The only way he could pay off his debt was to get research funding from a sponsor. So, now I'm here,” I said. Miu bumped her head against my shoulder, tears welding in her eyes. Oh no, I said something stupid again! Just as I was going to retract my statement, Miu pulled me closer to her. I was stuck between two lumps in her chest, breasts, I think humans call them? They felt warm against my face, though, part of me felt this was a tad lewd. Oh well; whatever pleases Miu #84 the most.

 

“That's really sad! I thought I had it rough. I was kidnapped when walking home from school. A really flashy businessman came up to me. He said he wanted to put my inventions to use on an international level. At first I doubted him, but then, he pulled out some fancy business cards and had contacts of several popular manufacturers in my area! It was like a dream come true! We had coffee too, he paid, and he went down the list of my inventions since I was six. When I thought I was on the cusp of signing off my inventions, my vision got blurry...and then…” Miu #84 explained, but then got quiet. What happened? How did Miu #84 ended up becoming an auditioner? My curiosity was eating at me. This human bit of me, the emotional part, was starting to react to this story. Was this just curiosity? Was it a mixture of anxiety too, empathy, maybe even worry?

  


“And?” I asked, my eyes looking down at Miu #84. I managed to pull my face out of her breast area, meeting her vacant gaze immediately. Her eyes appeared a bit less something. I couldn’t put my finger on it.

 

“What happened next, Miu #84?” I asked, this time securely placing my arms around her.  Perhaps humans liked to be held close as a defense mechanism to help them feel more safe? Or was this comfortable for her too? This friendship thing is complicated, even with just one friend. I’m glad I listened to my inner voice. Miu #84’s gradually closed the space between our faces, her eyes looking as if they lost more color. Or was it the way the lighting hit her eyes? Or was it the way her face seemed a lot less excitable than before? I couldn’t be too sure.

 

“You know, you could just call me Miu. The number seems a bit too formal,” Miu said, seeming to deter answering my previous questions. But, perhaps calling her by that name made her feel too distant from me? Human interpersonal interaction is hard!

 

“Ok, erm, Miu. What happened after things got blurry?” I said, affirming her concern and staying assertive with my questioning. I saw her eyes appear even more dull now, as if something was physically draining her of life. Weird...maybe I’m just overthinking what I’m seeing? Her lips started to move, but no sound left them. A few minutes past where she did this, and eventually, her lips closed. A small smile appeared on her face.

 

“Keebo...I can’t say, I’m terribly sorry. But I can promise you one thing,” Miu said, her voice changing to a whisper. Her forehead pressed against mine. I closed my eyes, unsure of what Miu’s intentions were. Why tell me a story like that and not finish it? I told my full story, therefore by logic I should hear her full story too! How do humans show their distaste in something while retaining friendships, I wonder?

 

I felt Miu’s lips clamp around my metallic ear, the sensation making me hop to my feet. Miu clung to me during this, her legs wrapping around my waist.

 

“W-What is this,” I asked, nervous, my tone noticeably louder than before. Maybe this’ll signal some of the others to pay attention to this. Surely they would stop Miu if she was doing something to injure me! Miu sucked on my ear, as if there had been some sort of liquid stored within it. My eyes slowly opened, met with the confused glances of other auditioners.

 

“One day...I’ll tell you the full story. But not here. Not with _everyone_ watching,” Miu spoke between her suckles. The attention we were getting made me feel more awkward than usual, my body unsure of how to react.

 

“U-Uh, _everyone_ , nothing unusual is happening! We are simply...being friends?” I spoke to the crowd, trying to keep a friendly face as Miu continued her strange action on my ear. Most of the onlookers appeared to lose interest after, but there was a man with spiky purple hair sitting alongside a black-haired girl. His face appeared to be the most dumbfounded by the action. His eyes remained fixated on me as he stroked his goatee.

 

“Is anyone going to question why there’s a freakin’ robot here? Anyone?”

  
“Ah, maybe you should be the ultimate child, you sure are acting like one.”

 

“Maki, why do you insist on being such a bitch!?!”

 

The group from before erupted in more idle chatter, the others seeming to clear the area now. Miu eventually stopped sucking on my robotic ear once the crowd thinned significantly. It dripped with saliva, which made me feel unclean. How could I even begin to clean this mess? My eyes returned to the last remaining group in the hall. One of the students sitting proceeded to stand up, facing the group as he stood in front of the four. Three of them offered their full attention while one in the yellow jacket continued to toy with a wooden brush. Wait, a yellow jacket! That’s a pretty odd school uniform. However, that jacket could help Miu cover up! As I staggered toward the girl in the yellow jacket, the boy in the hat slammed his foot against one of the pieces of furniture.

 

“Hey, you think the robot even wants this attention? What if the robot just wants to be with the person they like the most?! What if the robot got dragged along, despite their best attempts to sway their favorite person away from this hellhole, huh?!” shouted a boy with black hat. The rest of his outfit appeared to be black too. The others in the group fell silent, though the black-haired girl had a smile on her face throughout the exchange.

 

“I can see where your motivations lie, Ultimate Detective,” the black-haired girl said with a wider smile, “You shouldn’t show your weak spot so easily.”

  
“Yeah, if he wins auditions, he should be super easy kill. Emo wittle boy~” the purple haired man teased, reaching and nearly flicking the hat off the black-clothed boy. The boy managed to evade the attack, glaring at the purple haired guy. A girl came up in the naval blue uniform, a red bow on her chest. She put herself between the black-clothed boy and the purple haired guy. Was this the end of a friendship?

 

“Kaito, don’t be rude! He’s my friend you asshole.” the blonde-haired girl shouted to the purple-haired man, the hat boy beginning to jog away from the group.

 

The hat boy proceeded to storm off elsewhere, the blonde girl in the navy blue outfit marching after him.

 

“Uh...you don’t suppose it’s a bad time to ask for a favor,” I asked, Miu climbing off my body.

 

The girl in the yellow jacket pounced up, immediately invading my vision.

 

“Sure, I can fulfill any favor! However, you seem to lack the ability to provide a sufficient blood offering,” the yellow jacket girl said, a strange smile plastered over her face. What did I get myself into?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter we check back in with our bois in the Funeral Room ^^. Any comments are appreciated! Let me know if you noticed the inconsistency in this chapter :P


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New chapter, yay! I hope you guys enjoy!

The Funeral Room, once blank, was now bursting with different colors. I didn’t think Kokichi would have the finse to write out a plan like this.

 

“Yeah, I totally stole this idea from FMAB! We shouldn’t take any chances! Knowing Junko, if she’s anything like what I’ve learned from the games, she’ll pull some backhanded twist to allow herself to view this room,” Kokichi explained as we first began the plan, “Plus I like to think of **him** as my sugar~” Before I got the chance to ask what ‘FMAB’ was,  he was rattling off key codes for me to remember. The main people in our plan, those we’re hoping to last the longest, are the typical base ingredients of cake. The topping were the extras, or rather, people we were unsure we could trust. There were flavorings, too, and all of this was becoming a bit overwhelming. But I understood Kokichi’s reasoning clearly; we couldn’t let Junko have the slightest chance of figuring out this plan.

 

We pushed the bed from its original position to cover the corner entrance. This was to make sure no one could inadvertently come through. And, well, I was a bit anxious. The memories of last time were still screaming at me, though, Kokichi’s words were louder than them.

 

We were sitting on the bed, scanning over the written words on each whiteboard. I estimated about a day had passed since we got up here. It would really help if they had a clock here, but I guess, they’re already giving us an edge by letting us plot.  

 

“Now, with all of our planning done, I want to pick your brain a bit. About me and you. I don’t want this to all be wasted space in some room, ya’know,” Kokichi said, leaning his head on my shoulder, “We need a strategy to supplement this plan.” 

 

“Right...I want to believe people would believe you about the killing game, but once your personality becomes full set, there’s no clue what’ll be the truth or a lie coming from you,” I said, pondering as a placed my hand underneath my chin. I rested that arm on my knee, thinking of how to get things organized properly. From the debriefing I received before coming in the stadium, I’d get one clue and the full map of the  killing game territory. Those I wanted to keep secret for now, and if plans required use of them, I should be as vague as possible with Kokichi. Kokichi was an ally to me, but the perks I gained from surviving last cycle were my own. I had to keep that request of _hers_ if all else fails.

 

“And, on top of that, you’re going to have some memory issues still. Your full memory won’t be unlocked until you figure out your talent again, right?” Kokichi added, his arms wrapping around my me. I hadn’t realized his body had already invaded my personal space and likely wasn’t moving an inch from here. But, as long as we were productive, I didn’t mind much of what Kokichi had been doing. In a strange way, it reminded me of my youngest sister with how he had been acting.

 

“Yeah, right,” I replied,  curving my head to view the first section of our plan. Or, in our code, the first ingredients in our recipe:

 

-One Donut 

-One litre of Fanta 

-One pound of flour 

-One pound of Sugar

 

“How about we make flour and Sugar become friends with our Donut early on? That way, when they realize- - ” I started to explain, but Kokichi pressed his head in my chest.

 

“No! Flour is a cunt. I already don’t like _her_ from training. I think I prefer taking a ‘good cop bad cop’ stance on this. I’ll be the object of disgust for everyone, follow my scripted character, but then also break out of character when needed. You can be the nice voice of reason that gradually turns everyone to pay attention to my words,” Kokichi suggested. But could he really break out of character once we enter the domain of the game? Even with how my cycle went, no one broke character. No matter how much people didn’t want to play their characters, once the game engine shut on, there was no turning back. Kokichi likely wasn’t an exception of the 27 other top candidates they have scouted thus far. 

 

“I don’t think good cop bad cop would work. Remember, you’re only able to break out of character now because we’re outside the domain of the game. Once we’re in the domain of the game, you’ll be stuck to your personality to a tee,” I explained. I watched as Kokichi’s face turned sour, looking down as the shadows from his har obscured his face.

 

“I can break out of it, ya’know? That’s why I’ve been so dedicated to mastering my character now. You have to believe in me if this is going to work, Rantaro,” Kokichi said, pressing his face into my chest. When I tried to pluck him out, his arms wrapped tighter around me. I wondered why Kokichi was being especially close to me as of late? Had Kokichi and Shuichi really been close lovers before all of this, and he had been missing that feeling of closeness?

 

“What do I have to do to gain your trust? How can I earn it? I need it, everyone in the world needs it,” Kokichi mumbled into my chest, his fist gripping at the fabric of my shirt, “I’m special. You told me that. You told me I’ll remember everything but I’ll be reduced to a liar. But, just because I lie a lot, doesn’t mean every statement I’ll say is a lie.” Wait, what was Kokichi getting at? The game was purposely designed thus far to have Kokichi as the cornerstone to assist the protagonists with the class trials. In addition, much like Nagito and Togami, Kokichi will irritate the protagonists to a variety of emotional levels. That included having Kokichi tell frequent lies of varying intensity. 

 

“I mean, almost everything out of your mouth will be a lie, Kokichi, we need to come to terms to that first. Then--” 

  
“I did not get fucked by Shuichi.” 

  
“This isn’t the t---”

 

“I didn’t get fucked by Shuichi. Just kidding, that’s a lie! See? I can lie but still tell the truth in a roundabout way. If I get an urge to lie but know the truth, I can use that setup. You see? OR,” Kokichi said, his face poking out of my chest with a grin, “I didn’t get fucked by Shuichi. But if I did, I’d be--”

 

“Ok, Ok, whatever, I believe you. It’s not like we can test things before the fact. But I still want to be able to verify that I’m talking to you and not your character you somehow,” I replied before Kokichi said some more ‘experimental lies’. A scarlet blush consumed my face as I looked down at him this time. I had to stop him before he got off track again.

 

“Like, a test phrase or whatever? Do you think you’ll be in the right mindset to even gauge my answer for it? Seriously, you need to find your research room first. After that, when your memories come back fully, we should be able to collaborate. Since we’re not sure what memories you’ll have, the main focus is for you to find your room. Leave the dirty work to me,” Kokichi said with a grin, pushing his head up to kiss my cheek. I let out an awkward laugh, shaking my head at him. Even with everything we’ve been put through, Kokichi still found new ways to deter me from our current blight. Just like my younger sister. Or am I using him as a placeholder for her at this point? I’m not really sure...but Kokichi has a good point. My research room should help jog my memory. My survivors perks should assist me in finding that. No need to get Kokichi involved in that section of the plan.

 

“Even then, Junko will probably put my research room somewhere not easily reached. I wouldn’t put it past her to unveil my room last or close to that. It’ll probably be the same for yours,” I explained, “Especially since we’re following a script similar to the 1st and 2nd games. One of us needs to survive until the end, or at the very least, help the best we can to end the killing game in session. Our best hope for that will be the 1st class trial, if the format will stay the same as Junko has planned it to be. Junko plans on combining the elements of the last trial in the first game with the ending for the 2nd game.”  

 

“So you’re saying it’ll be one of those ‘revealing the truth’ to the killing game events like the 1st and 2nd games? That means Junko plans on…”   
  
“Yep. If no one dies quick enough to her liking for the first  round of things,” I said, securely wrapping my arms around Kokichi, “Junko’ll kill someone herself. That’s where discussions were leaning toward as we got closer to the 1st audition day. If we’re able to catch the mastermind early on that way, then the whole killing game will be a wash. Two failures for killing games in a row should discourage demand and overall interest within the fanbase.” I leaned in a bit, bowing my head to feel Kokichi’s neck along mine. Burying himself closer into me, my blush felt hot. I think I understand why Kokichi likes this closeness now. The warmth of his body helped with starving off the old memories of cycles past. Kokichi leaned into my touch, his head placing itself alongside mine on my shoulder.

 

“It’s likely to be one of the protagonists right? If it’s Shuichi…” Kokichi trailed off, his voice not wanting to finish the sentence. His arms held me tight. His hands gripped at my shirt still, reminiscent of how my sister would do that when she got really emotional over things. Though, I knew Kokichi’s grip wasn’t as pure as that. Especially since he had previously referred to my...lower region as a food condiment.  

 

“We don’t need to think that far out. We just need to ensure we corner and conquer the mastermind. If someone ends up dying as a result of things, I know a failsafe we can visit once survivors fully exit the game domain. I only know of it because, well, I’d rather not get into it,” I said, nuzzling the side of Kokichi’s head. Kokichi’s body curled up close to my own, his head cradled by my shoulder and head as he seemed to drift off. Kokichi deserved to sleep some of the stress. I’ll do the thinking for now while he rested. I hadn’t known much for the intimate love Shuichi and Kokichi shared, but, I did know how to best comfort my sisters. That’ll have to do for now, Kokichi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> : ) Leave comments, kudos, whatever. Thanks for following me for going on half a month! We'll return to our favorite robot boy after this.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Early out, but, for a reason! This survey will be a question longer, as it will trigger a "hope" or "despair" event for chapter sixteen. Muaahaha! Enjoy the chapter.

“Blood...donation?” I said, again, to confirm what white-haired girl had said. What did a blood donation have to do with giving Miu her jacket? 

 

“Atua will answer anyones wishes, though, you can’t just ask without giving something in exchange!” the white-haired girl said, wagging her finger in my face. I backed away a bit, looking over to Miu. Miu looked a bit shy, looking down at the ground with her hands inside each other.

 

“Uhm, the favor is more so for my friend Miu. She’s in need of something to help her cover up...would you mind giving her your jacket?” I asked, gesturing over to Miu. I watch Angie eye Miu up and down, Miu’s face to the floor the entire time. I know MIu stated she hadn’t wanted a girl to stare at her too long, but I figure the girl in the jacket wanted to confirm I was being honest.

 

“Ooo, that simple of a request? I guess we can put off the blood offering until the killing game starts,” the  white-haired girl said, a smile stretched across her face as she said her words. How could she be so happy saying something like that? Part of me got angry, but, I hid my true emotions with a smile. Is this what playing nice is? It felt like a lie. It probably was a lie to give off such a gesture, but, Miu needed help. Miu’s current outfit was not satisfactory to cover up herself.    
  


As Angie proceeded to take off her jacket, Miu  grabbed me by my shoulder. When I gazed into Miu’s eyes, I couldn’t really make out how she was feeling. Even when I zoomed out my vision to see her entire face, there wasn’t a wrinkle or skin particle that could tell me how Miu felt. It was just a blank expression. Was she still feeling on guard from the questions I asked earlier? 

 

“Here you are, it’d be a shame for you to walk around with your body falling out of your clothes,” the white-haired girl said, draping the jacket over Miu’s shoulders. I could feel Miu jump slightly at the feeling. Miu proceeded to carefully slip her arms inside of the jacket, the sleeves large enough to easily fit her figure. 

 

The jacket itself was pretty big on the white haired girl, and it was no exception to Miu. The only difference was that the jacket stopped just above Miu’s ass. Ah, I shouldn’t be looking this closely at Miu. My eyes jumped back up to Miu’s face, a small smile growing on it.

 

“T-Thank you for t-this,” Miu said to my direction, turning to bow at the white haired girl, “And thank you for your kindness! May I ask your name?” 

  
“My name is Angie! It is a pleasure to meet you, Miu, and your strange robot companion,” Angie announced herself, taking a bow, “May Atua guide you to survival!” 

 

The woman in front of us appeared to be quite the devotee to whatever religion she identified with. I hadn’t wanted to cause any unneeded banter about religion during a time like this, but, something was strange. Was Angie not assigned a number?  Each time I wanted to ask, Miu and Angie appeared to get into a conversation about their outfits, hair dye, among other topics. I couldn’t get a word in. Was now the time to make more friends? I managed to become friends, learn more about, and assist Miu! Now, it was time to do the same for others. 

 

I decided to approach the man in red and the woman in her school uniform. They appeared to be in something of an argument as I ambled over to  them. 

 

“From what you’re telling me, you just blew our chances of surviving this place. Good job.”

 

“Don’t ‘good job’ me you fucking cunt! That boy is really draining to be around, always crying and pissing away his time sobbing over his ex girl. That girl Kaede is who I really wanna stick around with. If you want to befriend whiny hat boy, go ahead.” 

 

“Maybe you need to learn a thing or two about being social. I doubt we’ll be able to leave this place without making as many allies as possible. You’re only making things worse for yourself.”

  
“Then why are you still here, why don’t you go run along with blonde bitch and whiny boy?!? I don’t care what it’ll take for me, I *will* get a spot on the killing game and I *will* win!” 

 

The purple haired man slammed his hand against the wall, making me a bit nervous. I had to dissolve this situation the best I knew how. I couldn’t befriend people who were having an argument. I had to dissolve that first before getting to know either of them.

 

“Please, sir, calm down! Perhaps your frie--”

  
“I don’t have any friends here. Just people I know a bit about. Now if you don’t get out of my way this instant, I may be tempted to bust that brain out of your little robotic head!” 

 

Things were escalating beyond my previous calculations. I took some steps back, hiding my face underneath my arms. How could humans become so violent so quickly?  I shivered in anticipation of a hit of some sort, but I all heard was the sound of muffled screaming. 

 

“Shh...Shhhh…,” a voice cooed from  above me. What was going on? Did one of the other humans manage to tranquilize the angry purple man? I still felt uneasy from looking out and putting myself in danger, but then a thought came to mind: Miu. Did I really want to risk Miu getting mixed up in this as well, what if the purple man was starting to make strides to attack her? 

 

My eyes peaked through my arms, seeing an...unsettling sight to say the least. The black-haired girl had a pillow pushed directly over the purple man’s face. Said purple man was turning purple himself, his eyes rolling back into his head.  Once the man went limp in her arms, she removed the pillow from his face.

 

“I apologize for his actions. I was in his training cohort and he tends to be reckless,” the girl said, slinging the man over her shoulder and tossing the pillow on a nearby couch, “Name’s Maki. Dumb number they assigned me is #931. Your name is K1-B0, right?”  I was impressed by her strength but also petrified by her presence. I had never seen a girl, even in the research team, that managed to flip a human body like that. 

 

I nodded quickly to the Maki’s words,  unsure if I befriend a person who just nearly suffocated someone to death. But, something was confusing me. The purple man clearly stated Maki wasn’t his friend...but they clearly had some sort of history together. I had to quench my curiosity and find out more! 

 

“So, are you guys friends? That was pretty violent of you to choke him like that,” I asked, readjusting my body to a more comfortable position. I lowered my arms to my sides, watching Maki’s face turn a bit pale.

 

“ _ Do you wanna die? _ ” Maki  spoke in another fear inducing matter, causing me to step back further. 

 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” I said, repeating it over and over, or at least until i felt a hand on my shoulder.

 

“Atua will keep you safe, Keebo!”  Angie’s voice rang out beside me. I took a look over my shoulder to see Angie behind me. She had a wide grin on her face as Miu hid behind her. 

 

“D-Don’t threaten Keebo like that. He saved me from a mean group of me, er, other people auditioning for my part. And I’m sure you had your reasons for knocking that boy out, Kaito I think his name is?” Miu said, her voice noticeably louder than I’d ever heard her speak before. I smiled at this, feeling a bit happy at that change. Perhaps Miu was gaining confidence. Unlike me, who hid their face like a coward. I felt envious almost, since I felt that I still had the same confidence as before. My eyes jumped back to Maki, who had started walking in the direction that the other two fled beforehand. 

 

“Very well then. We shall become allies for the time being. We should find two other people. One is a blonde and the other is wearing a hat, a girl and boy respectively. They appear to have connections to whoever is running this thing,” Maki announced, picking up her pace as she finished her sentence. Angie followed immediately, ranting about something related to Atua.

 

“Let’s go Keebo. We need to make more friends if we wanna survive,” Miu said, taking my hand. I looked over Miu, a smile now on her face. It seemed  that Miu became more confident now that her body was better covered with the jacket. 

 

As I followed Maki, I began to ponder through all the various possibilities that could happen. Would we find the other two before the second round of auditions began? Will a new group of students come into the hall?  

 

As my thoughts raced, I felt Miu pull closer to my shoulder. We were beginning to exit from the separate hallway and enter a new sea of other auditioners.

 

[(Click here to initiate audience participation survey!)](https://goo.gl/forms/FXJQCsM1HsSifC813)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment, Kudo, whatever! Thanks for reading! ^.^ New love hotel should be out by the end of April, though I'll warn ya; it's gonna be really smutty.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ok, you guys...you vote for despair. So I'm gonna give it to you. Also, because descriptions were really long for what was voting on, I'll write them here!:
> 
> Sees a masked person following the group from afar (Korekiyo #116) (Blue)  
> Wants to review what everyone's talent is (more group interaction)! (Red)  
> Memory flashback![testing of our flashback flashlights in beta]{OOC: Flashblack when Keebo first met Kokichi}(Yellow)  
> What's with that crowd of students around that screen?? [students will watch Junko be reborn][OOC: Candidate #2002 taking Junko's conscious](Green, winner)

 

This is it. After I signed my name on several contracts, the lead administrators led me to a door, in an isolated hallway with tons of security on each end. They told me to pray to whatever God I believe in and bid farewell to my body fairly soon. The interview section was grueling, and for a moment there, I thought I’d be waitlisted. But, Junko specifically desired me. Junko loved my body shape, my concept, the pure and unabridged version of me! Just thinking about the sound of her voice coming out the speakers had me drooling! The door in front of me appeared like any classroom door I’ve seen before. Was this to avoid another event like...before?  As I scanned the door for any abnormalities, I noticed the handle was non-existent. In addition, at the top of the door, there was a notice that read:

 

_Junko Enoshima’s Host, Please Knock Once for Assistance._

 

The notice appeared to be written on a piece of rotting wood, likely what they’ve used for the past [REDACTED] years. Oh, has the transformation already begun with my thoughts being monitored? Well, I guess I should get to things then! Tsumugi Shirogane, taking her title from Ultimate Cosplayer to  Ultimate Despair! And for one singular reason: to complete my exhaustive cosplay list with the closest one could achieve to getting into character. Ah, I guess you could say the character is going into me?

 

I closed my eyes and imagined myself in the ultimate fiction of a cosplay: Junko Enoshima. Throughout the conventions and trade shows I frequented, I could never process in my wildest dreams I’d become one with the best fiction there is. I knew from the moment I perfected every cosplay out there, that my Junko cosplay would not be enough. It was...missing the real deal. My tapestry skills paled in comparison to the massive budget this group managed to dump into such a complex Junko AI. I guess, all things considered, the difficult thing with this cosplay, is breaking character. I’m sure Junko will have precautions in place, especially in the context of the killing game. Oh, cosplay spirits, give me the strength to accept Junko’s conscious with open arms!  I opened my eyes to see the strange classroom door once more.

 

After leaving one resonating knock against the wood, the door immediately flung open, several pairs of hands pulling my body inside a dark room. Their fingers felt soft, though, they were being overly cautious with how they were pulling off my outfit. Was my uniform even a plot device for this cycle?!? Once my body was bare, I could hear a match strike. A bright pink light followed the match strike, held by one of the people in a white cloak.

 

“We must cleanse the skin, and after, you will be ready,” spoke an elderly voice. How strange...those fingers felt quite soft and youthful in comparison to the voice I hear. Or am I doubting things a bit too much?

 

. . .

* * *

 

As our group managed to weave through the crowd, there was a massive quantity of students gathered in front a huge screen not too far ahead. Maki somehow lost us in the crowd, and per my own suggestion, I tried to figure how where they could have gone. My inner voice told me to search for a large crowd, and, here we are!

 

“That is a fancy T.V.! I wonder what will show on it,” Angie stated, pointing toward it. I looked briefly, though I felt Miu tug at my hand.

 

“We should keep looking for the others,” Miu suggested, “We already got separated from Maki. She moves really fast for someone also carrying an unconscious person.”

 

“Atua has blessed her with the strength and agility to find our lost friends” Angie added, “I’m sure all will work out in the end!” My inner voice was agreeing with Angie, even though the more logical side of my brain wanted to look for the others. Maybe we could report back after seeing what was on the screen?I looked over to Miu, flashing a  smiling her direction. As we got closer into the crowd, Miu appeared to be very nervous, careful to hide behind me or beside me this entire time.

 

“I think Angie may be right, and who knows, the television may help us,” I said. I watched as Miu’s lips curled into a frown, burying her face into my shoulder.  I did my best comfort action by wrapping my arm around her, walking through the crowd to get closer to the television. Angie followed closely behind Miu and I, humming a soft tune as we walked along. I kept my ears open to any nearby conversation in attempts to understand the current situation.

 

“They really just drop this huge thing a few minutes ago here...I don’t know if this means the 2nd round’ll begin soon or not.”

  
“I think this is going to show where we need to go for auditions man. It’s gonna suck some major balls if we need to do any logic puzzle shit. I mean, I get it, that’s kind of what Danganronpa’s about...but...I also wanna live.”

 

“Quit whining you fuck. Whatever challenge there is, we gotta beat it or die. That’s the way it is.”

 

The conversations seemed to fall between wanting the 2nd audition to start and anxiety over what was to come next. I kept Miu close to my shoulder, her grip tight around me. I wonder if that’s what Miu was nervous about too? My eyes looked over Miu, her face still frowning as she stayed close to me.

 

“Ahem! Remaining auditionees. Monokuma here, excited to tell you some real good news. Well, good news if you’re on the cast that is!  The 2nd round is about to begin! And, to kick things off, we’ll stream the rebirth of our lovely host; Junko Enoshima! Once she wakes up, she’ll be more than happy to let you know what the next steps are,” a voice came from the monitor, and with a few staticy jumps, a black-and-white bear came into the scene. Monokuma is such a strange name for a bear to have. Something deep in me told me things weren’t going to get any better. That things were going to be terrible...that this bear was part of the secret that kept things going on for so long. The bear’s dialogue kept looping, meaning things were just about to be set up.

 

I glanced over to Angie, who had been on the ground now. Her knees were bent, the soles of her feet touching each other. Her hands were firmly placed in the other’s palm, her head facing the floor with her eyes closed. I had never seen another human pray in the flesh before...this is certainly an interesting experience! I felt Miu’s hands slip around my waist, her entire body hiding behind mine.

 

“Ah, Miu, there’s no need to hide! There’s just--” I tried to say, but I felt her face meet my shoulder. I could feel Miu scream directly into it, the sound being muffled by my metal interface. This went on for about a minute or so, gaining some unwanted attention from the people around us. I think I know how to fix situations like these now, since this was similar to my previous mixup!

 

“Uh, not to worry anyone, we’re just being...friends,” I said, hoping this line would work again .I saw most become uninterested in us, like last time, and focus on the screen in front of us. As I looked over the crowd to ensure things were settled, there was one girl who made immediate eye contact with me. Her hairstyle was similar to Maki’s, however, her clothes were much different. She had a tie on her uniform, a contrast to the bows I saw many girls wear.  Her outfit appeared to be better fit for more of a boy uniform, but, maybe that was just her character? I watched as the girl pushed her way through the crowd, grunting and giving glares at anyone who dared talk back at her. Oh no, Oh no, what do I do? When I tried to reach out for Angie for assistance, I saw she was still deep in her prayer mode. Was it rude to interrupt a human while praying? Probably -- but, maybe I could resolve the situation with more logic and kind words?

 

“You making a girl cry over here, robot? If you were a human, I’d be tempted to beat the shit out of you, right here, right now,” the girl shouted, her body appearing to get into a fighting stance, “Screw it, I’m willing to throw down right now!”

 

I crossed my arms in front of my face, spewing apology over apology. That seemed to help some, but I still felt a few wallops at my arms.

 

“I don’t know if you feel pain, but, there!” yelled the girl, kicking at my arms. I kept trying to apologize, bowing to her and anything else I had in my database for apologetic body language.

 

“Alright kiddos, the show is starting now! Don’t get too bloodthirsty yet, I’m sure your host would be saddened she missed out on some of the action,” Monokuma said, seeming to transmit himself off of the TV. I looked below to see the bear now guarding me, waving one paw with metal claws at the girl. His body rested against my arm briefly before  hopping to the girls shoulder.

 

“Now Now, calm down and watch the screen, would ya? You don’t want a whittle bear like me to slice you up,” Monokuma teased, his appearance seeming to send the crowd closest to us far away.  I could feel Miu hold my waist tightly, her face hiding behind mine. I watched as the girl gradually pulled away from me, standing next to the praying Angie.

 

“I got my eye on you, male. You may be a robot, but that doesn’t change the fact that you’re a degenerate male!” the woman shouted again, her face now turning to the screen in front of us. Monokuma did the same, and in a flash, he was gone. What a strange...mascot?  I decided to push the black and white bear out of my mind, looking toward the screen. Let my hand snake back, finding Miu’s waist and stroking int in a (hopefully) comforting matter. Please..please let this have a peaceful ending.

 .  .  .

* * *

 

 

Chestnut and Aster flowers covered me instead of my high school uniform.  My skin felt soft, hair too, and every inch of my body felt fresh. The past few minutes with these white cloak fellows had been like an accelerated pedicure, manicure, and skin moisturizer! Only the best for Junko, and by relation, me too! This entire process was divine. I was floating in what felt like a chilled bath with flowers scattered across my body. I couldn’t fight the smile that was stuck on my face as of now. Why would I want to? Being one with Junko, officially becoming the ultimate cosplayer, my life was now complete.  There was nothing more that I could want. Well, besides for this water to be about 47 degrees warmer. And these flowers not to feel so itchy. Ok, I guess there could be some alterations to what was going on. This marble flooring really helped control heat in here. And, this strange...object floating above me looked strange. It was a mixture of a Monokuma and the face of Junko. Maybe it’s just something for me to focus on, like when dentists have those ugly photos hanging in their office?

 

My fingers were becoming numb on the water’s surface, causing me to shiver more than I’d liked. Why did my body have to be this temperature again? If Junko’s conscious simply needed a host, then all of this stuff was meaningless. Just for show and likely to up the production value of these auditions. I bet my nipples look pretty rockin’ through these flowers, so, I guess that increases viewership too.

 

Pictures of the legend Junko Enoshima surrounded my body, candles lighting every centimeter of the room. Personnel in white cloaks held candles burning bright pink. I could make out several cameras being placed around the room, and one large Monokuma plushie  resting a few feet away from my head. Was that where Junko was right now, quietly waiting to enter my flesh? Oh, jesus, that sounded more lewd than I wanted it to be. Though, if it had to be that way, I’d have no complaints. I guess I was getting a little anxious now.  My eyes were traveling around the room, piano beginning to play. The ceremony, the ceremony, it was beginning! My smile couldn’t pull to be any wider.

 

“Junko Enoshima. The 53rd. We call upon your name to begin this cycles killing game. We have collected a body to your standards, and as we hope each cycle, your conscious will accept this host happily. We have collected a sample of the cast you have personally designed. We seek your help in narrowing down the crowd. We seek your guidance in which way this killing game will turn. We seek your salvation of almighty despair to ease our minds of worry. Of pain. Of the real world problems. Of the pain reality drags us through. Of the pain that having free will burdens us with. Please, bless us with your existence, Junko Enoshima the 53rd!” chanted the white cloaks in unison, their voices sounding awfully younger than before. This felt strange, but, my dream was coming true in the next moments! To become Junko Enoshima. To become true despair. This would crown me, for sure, as the best cosplayer out there! Dedicated to my character to the brink of death! I looked upward, watching as their pink candle light enjoined with the plushie. And, with that, I felt the pink light enter my forehead.

 

This is it! The moment I’ve been waiting for, the moment everyone has been waiting for!

 

Tsumugi Shirogane will now take a backseat, and, oh my...this power. This presence. My existence…is no more.

 

Cuz Junko Enoshima is….

 

Cuz Junko Enoshima is….

 

Cuz Junko Enoshima is….

 

Cuz Junko Enoshima is….

 

. . .

* * *

 

 

“Back Motherfuckers!” yelled a feminine voice, from directly behind me. I saw everyone stare at me. Their eyes were...really wide. I couldn’t stand it. Why me? Why was everyone looking at me!??!! All this attention was making me feel too anxious to function! My sight cut off for a few moments, hearing too, and all of this felt like too much.

 

“Miu, are you alright back there,” I asked, afraid to look back. Everyone was staring at me, so, naturally...this Junko person was likely behind me. In the flesh….returned from whatever slumber they were rambling about in that long winded prayer. I heard Angie  tip over beside me. My eyes quickly looked to Angie to ensure she was okay. Angie was...well, she wasn’t smiling, but there was no frown either. A blank face. Her eyes were hollow. Her lips were parted. That angry girl from before seems to have lost her voice completely, her eyes looking down with tears forming in her eyes.

 

“It appears that...Atua has spoken,” I could barely hear Angie mumble out, her eyes looking downward as her hair covered her face. What could that mean? Was this Junko actually the Atua Angie has been worshiping this entire time!?? I felt a wind of words build in me, but,  I felt a hand touch the side of my face....Miu, so you are okay! There’s hope after all! I could feel Miu’s hand drag against my face, her fingers gently pressing my face. The pressing felt almost deliberate, but, she was likely just as scared as me. The mastermind behind all of this was just brought into the room after all!

 

“It seems like...I won’t be able to tell that story, Keebo,” Miu said, her voice sounding garbled and heavy. The hand that was on my face gradually fell, the weight of her arm dropping hard to the floor. And then, after...I felt droplets of liquid spray against my back panels, the sound of metal...and the sound of squishy noises...and...and...and…

 

I forced myself to listen to my inner voice, and turned around. The sight. The stench of metal tainted blood. Even without a proper stomach function, it felt like the nuts and bolts inside me were screwing out of their proper places.

 

“Ah, first auditioner eliminated! Game’s simple, dumb fucks! I got a code that’ll appear on the screen in ten seconds! It’s a serial code of the sorts. Without going into too much detail and making it hard for your brains to follow, find a bunch of people and pray to god, preferably me, your numerical names fill in that code up there. And, as a special perk of those who were super nice and showed up to my birthday, you get a ten minutes grace period to make some friends and be cheeky. Those who are able to make up that code pass to the final round. I love you all so very much. Well, the ones I pass anyway,” the Junko girl spoke, emotionless as she peeled Miu #84 from her sword...Miu’s body fell to the ground, all signs of life appearing to be gone...blood just slowly streaked from her stomach. My first friend. Gone.

 

“Anyone caught alone after this ten minute grace period will end up like blondie! Sword straight through the organs. Which ones!??!....Eh, depends on my mood really. After, like twenty minutes or whatever, I’ll bump up the total to pairs. And so on. So you better make quick friends. After about an hour or whenever I get bored, I’ll judge the groups! Any groups that goes over, slaughtered! Any groups that goes under, massacred! So, may luck be with you!” Junko continued, her grin shooting chills through my metal plating. Her entire appearance kept changing based on her words, from sad, to intellectual, to...how? How was she able to do this? And why did she look so much different than on the television? What happened to the host body’s blue hair? The girl before us had blond hair, and looked awfully strange, and dressed in bloody outfit while the girl on the TV was naked...There was small part of me...finding a lie, finding a bit of hope. A small slither.  I had to ask the question. I had to. Or, at least fight this unfair death.

 

“B-B-But I was wit--”

 

“Robots don’t count for shit, they’re all 0’s! Objects don’t even count for 0’s! Now, make a couple of friends before I bust you into bolts, you mistake,” Junko said to me, not caring...she, she didn’t care at all...I felt hands over my body, but, I could feel control of my body lessening. My sight kept cutting out. The bloodied Junko kept blinking in my vision, getting slightly closer each time my sight kicked back on...

 

I...I...I…

 

04-01-14-07-01-14-18-15-14-16-01 06-09-06- **20** -25 **20** -08- _1_ 8-05-05 03

 

([Click here to initiate audience participation survey!](https://goo.gl/forms/FpOn8SsAy1h0zOis1))

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm, whatever could that number mean? Could it be, a cooode? O: Kudos, comments, whatever! Glad you're sticking through it, person reading this!


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fun chapter ahead! ^_^ Thanks for sticking with me this long! Another chapter will be posted tonight. I'll be similar to Chapter **seven** of this series.
> 
> It'll also explain why there's no stats from the past Audience Participation round.

I love Kaede Akamatsu. Her entire existence is beautiful. Something in my head finally connected properly. Before all of this, I was thinking the wrong way. When I stormed off, during that brief amount of pain, I found peace.

 

Kaede took my hand as we kept getting further away from the other participants that were trying to make nice. Kaede, in that one hand touch, managed to soothe all the pain I ever felt since I got roped into the killing game mess. All I could see were cherry blossoms, a nice evening sky, and a picnic basket of our favorite treats. My eyes could see for miles our happiness together if we won the killing game. I saw our children, the bright future stretched  out in front of me. Not a sad memory in sight. Only the gained happiness I got from being attached to Kaede’s piano prowess.

 

I had been half conscious throughout most of our travels, and then full-on unconscious while the group traveled. I had to be carried by that random Maki girl when my episodisic pass-outs became an issue. Our first objective was to be to lose the other losers trying to follow us. I mean, I get it, they wanted an easy way to survive. But not on our dime. The Maki girl seemed pretty useful, especially since she managed to carry me and that frat boy Kaito while we were dead weight. And that Kaito would make the perfect killing game fodder once this thing got off the ground! 

 

I came to not so long after passing out, waking up in a strange theatre of sorts. My arms were on either armrest area, Kaito still snoozing along to the left of me. On my other side sat Maki, her legs crossed as her eyes were looking straight ahead. I decided to do the same. The image in front of me was, for a lack of a better known adjective, beautiful. Kaede had been dressed in her character outfit, blessed with such curves that made her look like art. I wanted to crawl up and sit next to her, but perhaps, that was asking for a bit too much. There was a glossy pane of glass that separated us from the purest of waifus of all time. Kaede had been working quick with the piano on stage, seeming to be using some sort of duster to clean up the muck on the piano. Why didn’t she have an unimportant person like me do all the peasant work for her?!?

 

“What happened to you?” whispered Maki, her hand covering my own on the armest. I felt a blush run across my face, my breathing becoming uneasy. Oh boy; Maki was pretty cute too! Would I really be locked in a school with beautiful girls like these!?! 

 

“N-Nothing. You’re the one that carried me wherever we are,” I responded, struggling to determine if my eyes were best suited on Maki or the prepping Kaede. Ah screw it; Kaede all day! 

 

Kaede’s hands appeared impeccable as she scanned the freshly wiped piano for dust or debris. After doing so, she threw the wipe in a random direction as she shook her hands. Maybe to ensure none of that icky dirt stuck to her? Wait, I’m missing the most important part of this! A Piano...An Ultimate Pianist. Oh; were we blessed to hear the sounds from an ultimate pianist in the flesh? 

 

“I just followed your friend. She said she had to do the person running this a favor. This better not be a trap,” Maki said, her voice leaning closer to me, “You’ll be my hostage if that’s the case.” 

 

“Hostage, blah blah, I’m just glad we get to see my beautiful waifu play piano,” I answered, my eyes entranced as I saw Kaede give me a wave. I waved back with both of my hands, still feeling the euphoria. I could hear Maki snort, lightly pushing my arm off the armest. I let my arm fall into my lap. Who cares what Maki thinks? My girlfriend got called here by some mastermind to play some wonderful piano. What’s it to her? 

 

I started to scan the rest of the room for any other waifu material. Nope. Just darkness and some strangely placed cameras. Kaede had  two of them placed facing toward her. Three more were hung on cables, a few feet above her. One more was oddly placed in front of us, a screen placed beside it. Maybe that’s what Maki was really looking at instead of my waifu? What a weirdo. 

 

“Ahem! Remaining auditionees. Monokuma here, excited to tell you some real good news. Well, good news if you’re on the cast that is!  The 2nd round is about to begin! And, to kick things off, we’ll stream the rebirth of our lovely host; Junko Enoshima! Once she wakes up, she’ll be more than happy to let you know what the next steps are,” a bear showed up on the screen, looking a bit too happy for my liking. He couldn’t even see my waifu looking pretty and perfect!  I grumbled at the screen, crossing my arms. 

 

“...Huh, what? How long was I out for? Where that damn robot go,” Kaito spoke, stirring awake as I felt his hands fumbled around and touched my arm. I pulled my arm back immediately, now squished between two  awake unsavory people. If only these two died back in the 1st auditions, I’d be alone with my waifu now! Fucking plebs. 

  
“Finally awake eh? Robot’s gone, we’re almost at 2nd auditions,” Maki said. Her voice sounded like a caring mom or whatever. Maybe Maki had some sort of feelings for Kaito, something that couldn’t be explained. A bound as tight as Kaede and I’s, never to be broke under any scenario! 

 

“Great, now I can prove myself!” Kaito stated. This back and forth between the two had been making it hard for me to concentrate on  Kaede and the screen in front of me. All I wanted to do was please my waifu and figure out where this audition was going next. 

 

“ “Alright kiddos, the show is starting now! Don’t get too bloodthirsty yet, I’m sure your host would be saddened she missed out on some of the action, ” Monokuma said, cackling as the screen flicked over to some...oh, no, another potential waifu! I  hungrily crawled to the screen before me. I fell to my knees and crawled over to it. The moment I heard piano, I nearly creamed myself. Kaede was an angel with the keyboard.  I laid on my stomach, drool dripping from my lips as a I reached out toward the screen.

 

“What the hell is wrong with you dude?!” Kaito yelled, but his preachiness could easily be muted. Maki said something similar too, but I wasn’t listening. Combining Kaede’s beautiful music with this image...something in my heart was resonating. I couldn’t hold it back like before. It was bursting out into the synapses of my brain, overloading my idiotic melancholy with blossoms of happiness. My waifu is here with me, along with some extras to watch the show. My life was perfect. Nothing could ever top this moment. 

 

“Hey, I think dad said this group gets a bonus for being part of the special core?” a strangely feminine voice said, it came from somewhere close, but I couldn’t see no matter how hard I looked. Urgh, everyone was distracting me! I kept blocking the new and old voices out, watching as the babe on the screen accepted some bright pink spirit straight in the forehead. And, after that, the video cut out, static replacing the beautiful masterpiece. The piano stopped too. What a bummer.

 

“Shuichi, get up. We have work to do,” Kaede said. I lifted myself to attention quick, smiling sheepishly at Kaede. She had some sort of code on a slice of paper. Her hand was extended out toward me, but, I didn’t want to crumble whatever my waifu thought valuable enough to taint her hands.

 

But, I tried to do some of that really difficult critical thinking. A variety of colors coded different numbers within the code, confusing me to a great degree. Why would Kaede play her beautiful music for a slice of colored number code?

 

“He’s useless like this. He seems easily distracted by women, especially you,” Maki commented. Totally not needed, but, whatever. If Kaede wanted to befriend such a cunt, so be it. I’ll be happily ignoring most of her remarks.

 

“I can fix him for now. He’s a lot easier to manage in this state, but, we need the part of him that actually works now,” Kaede said. Her words to me were like a gospel, no, a prayer that was granted ten times over. No matter how degrading they were...or wait..what...her hand, is touching me again. 

 

And...no...NO! Kokichi, no.

 

I don’t want to feel this pain of loving you anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudo, Comment, whatever. Thanks again for reading!!
> 
> ♡Don't kill me for using the word waifu♡


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here we are! ^_^

Dear Current Subscriber: 

 

We sincerely apologize for the technological difficulties surrounding our audience participation mechanic. K1-B0 has experienced an overload in his cognitive BIOs systems.  When our system attempted to retrieve survey data sent to us, we have encountered issues. A malicious virus has invaded a sector of our database processing, ruining and mixing up the current survey results. This has resulted in K1-B0 shutting down. We are currently working to quickly and precisely activate K1-B0 remotely.

 

During this outage, we encourage you  to explore the variety of cameras scattered across the audition stadium. Once K1-B0 is back up and running, we will send out a new audience participation survey request to all viewers! 

 

In the meantime, please take the below survey serviced through a different server in our computing system! The below survey will allow you to leave detailed, confidential feedback regarding the streaming process thus far. 

 

Happy 2nd Audition Day everyone,

  
  
  


[REEEEDACTED. PUHUHUHUH.]

 

[Survey link](https://goo.gl/forms/tRw1arI2h4qR3vP93)   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Our favorite grape is coming back one final time before...things happen!


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New Chapter! ^_^ Goodbye Funeral Room!

 

 

“You really think we could win and not get anyone killed?” I mumbled to Kokichi. Due to his insistent whining on “not feeling warm enough”, we were in such an embarrassing position.

 

Kokichi cuddled up close to me, his arms wrapped around my waist. His head laid on my upper chest as my legs supported him from underneath. I wrapped an arm loosely around his figure, my free hand adding some final notes to the whiteboard running along the bed.

 

Despite his above average intellectual, critical, and interpersonal skills, Kokichi lacked the ability to keep space between himself from other people. I still haven’t been able to distinguish if this was his character or Kokichi’s true self. As the days progress, the auditioners regular conscious will have to fight harder against their in-game personalities. This would result in a true battle against ones self and the fake self this terrible game forces upon the ‘auditioners’.

 

“Mrmm, yeah. Especially if they intend on doing that weird cold open with the rip-off Monokuma’s,” Kokichi mumbled into my chest, his grip tightening around me, “All I have to do is reset the game domain, right?”

 

“That’s not as easy as it sounds,” I warned, squeezing Kokichi’s side, “And that’s still kills you when you perform that in-game.”

 

I could feel Kokichi pout, his head gently knocking into my chest with some force. I grumbled at this, knowing there would be some sort of snappy response waiting for me.  I placed the black marker in my hand onto the bed, wrapping both of my arms around Kokichi.

 

“What about that failsafe you mentioned before? Why couldn’t we use that to revive me,” Kokichi asked, pulling his face from my chest and looking up toward me. This angle Kokichi stared at me from, it was reminding me too much of my sister. I need to focus. I closed my eyes and thought of the best way to say what was on my mind.

 

“The failsafe can only work once the killing game rules are set. A reset or shutoff won’t work during the cold open. Since the rules won’t be set until later, and if the domain is reset, the team will likely just regenerate a new you,” I explained. I felt Kokichi slam his head into mine, my eyes opening to see what mischief he had been planning.

Kokichi’s face was a rosy red, likely out of frustration due to the pouty frown stretched across his lips. In order to reach my height it appeared Kokichi switched to sitting on his knees, his hands slightly higher on my back as he stared me in the eyes.

 

“That’s stupid! They can’t just replicate me, my story--”

 

“How do you know that?” I countered, not even giving myself the time to process Kokichi’s words or what else he would try to refute with. The team handling the killing game had technology beyond most citizen’s ability to comprehend. Even with my cycle, and how bloody it became, they managed to keep pushing people out...exact replicas, not a flaw to their character...and their blood…

 

“I don’t know and don’t care! How do you think we go about the cold open, just sit around and wait for the game to begin like the rest of the clueless students there,” Kokichi said, his anger being transmitted by small spots of spit flinging to my face. Eh, I’d rather this than listening to Kokichi rant about that FMAB anime again.

 

“Well, there is *one* option we could try for. Between the cold open and the time we actually become aware of the killing game, my memory will be fully in tact. If I manage to confuse the Monokub--”

  
“It’s ok, you can say they’re ripoff Monokuma’s,” Kokichi said, cutting me off as he left a peck on my cheek. Ugh, if nothing else, Kokichi was becoming irritating. Even if this was his character starting to invade his conscious, we needed to push through before no more work could be done.

 

“...Monokubs. If I manage to talk to one in particular, the red one, we may be in business. The red one, from when I was in the last meeting, has terrible code and AI due to the budget starting to run out during his production. If we get that red kub to admit we’re in a killing game before it kicks off officially, then the fourth wall should break. In whatever code they have built for our environment, references and such won’t do. It needs to be the full on admittance that there’s a killing game going on. It has something to do with the code taking it in as a circular reference. I can’t do it myself or else they may kill this version of me and replace me with a replica. If the Monokubs are the ones to break the 4th wall, it’ll give us all a fighting chance to destroy the game internally. If that time does come, please help me with that. We can’t let this game go on a cycle longer…” I continued my explanation, squeezing Kokichi close to me in hopes of keeping him quiet. It appeared to work with how quietly Kokichi’s redness got deeper, his eyes averted away as he stuttered out a ‘yes’ to my previous request. I nuzzled the side of his face, cupping his cheek to ensure I had Kokichi under my charm again. We couldn’t waste anymore time with Kokichi’s character banter.

 

“And if that fails, then, we go onto our recipe. There isn’t much else we can do beyond that,” I added, leaning in to nuzzles Kokichi’s nose with mine. I watched him as he blushed more, seeming to sputter utter nonsense as I nuzzled his nose. Maybe this bashful Kokichi was the truth to Kokichi’s persona?

 

“Oh? Still planning are we,” a disgustingly familiar voice said. I could feel that rotten things fur rub against my arm. Kokichi flew from me chest, removing his arms as he grinned at the black-and-white bear sitting beside me. I guess the fine print never expressed Monokuma couldn’t enter with leisure, which upsets me. I found myself worried about our plan, but then realized, Kokichi coded things well enough with his writing. Even Monokuma wouldn’t be able to decrypt it without some sort of answer key. But who knew how long Monokuma had actually been listening in for.

 

“Oh my god, an actual Monokuma! Are you going to be the Monokuma that we work with,” Kokichi gabbed, his eyes shining as he looked at Monokuma,” Huh, huh?” I looked over to be confirmed that a blushing Monokuma had been standing beside me.  I shook my head, placing my head into my palms. I guess this means...there’s no more time. Nothing left to do besides survive. And Kokichi seems to be slipping into his full character. I bet he wouldn’t even recall training with the company’s training Monokuma.

 

“Well, if you must know, yes. I have orders to snatch you guys up and take you to the guys out to the stadium,” Monokuma said, the tone of his voice grating against my ears. Our time in this room hadn’t felt like three days. Then again, I don’t think there will ever be enough time to properly outthink an analyst like Junko.  I recalled the words Kokichi told me before:

 

_We shouldn’t take any chances! Knowing Junko, if she’s anything like what I’ve learned from the games, she’ll pull some backhanded twist to allow herself to view this room!_

 

Could Monokuma take pictures somehow and forward them to her? If so, was the code complex enough where Junko would be rendered helpless with pictures alone? I turned my eyes to Kokichi, who appeared to be going full on into character mode. His expressions kept cycling between sadness and utter euphoria, his eyes appearing to sparkle like stars toward Monokuma. If we were heading out to the main floor, it had to be my duty to keep him grounded. Shuichi and the others are most likely suffering from the same struggle between their original and game-made personalities.

 

“Wooooow! But wait...,” Kokichi said, his expression suddenly turning sour, “Does that mean we may not make it to the final cut?” Kokichi proceeded to cry tears, though, they appeared to be fake. This was going to be a lonely road for me to walk until the cold open.

 

“Puhuuhuhu! That’s the interesting part. You’ll have to come with me to find out,” Monokuma reeled, covering his mouth with his stupid paws. A black portal materialized beside Kokichi and I. The depth appeared bottomless, but, I doubt they kill us off like this. Kokichi and I were too important to kill off without reason.

 

“Where would that thing take us?” Kokichi asked, seeming to do all the talking for me. Well, whatever kept me from having to interact with this ugly bear.

 

“To your classmates, and oh, almost forgot,” Monokuma said, digging behind him as he pulled out a colorful sheet of paper, “That’s the list of people you need to hunt down before the killing game begins! Although I must warn you, it is slightly out of date.” There was a pause, which I had been tempted to fill in with my only question from dealing with this terrible, horrible Monokuma. But, either due to his own excitement or willingness to spread despair, the bear kept going.

 

 

“One or a few of those people on that sheet may die before you find them, so you better hurry along,” Monokuma had announced, dropping into the black hole before us. Monokuma left the list of colorful names in Kokichi’s hands, who had been reading it intently. 

 

As I saw Kokichi prepare to jump himself, I put my hand on his shoulder.

 

“Wait, there’s one more thing I want to say,” I said, watching as Kokichi’s eyes looked back at me.

 

“I know, I’m a terrible good cop. That’s why you should be it while we’re grabbing all these living people from this sheet. I’m mainly worried about Shuichi,” Kokichi said, his knees bending slightly. More silence. I kept a close eye on Kokichi. His face was facing toward the portal, which made it a bit difficult to read him. I’m starting to doubt my own abilities to catch  when he’s in character or his self.

 

“But, if I’m lucky  enough, he’ll be the same old Shuichi! Not...that weird one you helped him become,” Kokichi continued,  shrugging my hand off his shoulders. When I was about to pull my arm back, he grabbed it with both of his hands. I stood up on the bed, staring down the black portal Monokuma made and then at Kokichi. His smile felt...dishonest. Was Kokichi really ready to assume his full role?

 

“Yeah…” I said. I couldn’t break Kokichi’s hope with the truth that everyone was having the same personality issues, “I just wanted to say I’ll be something of a bodyguard when we get to the stadium. The 2nd round tends to get a bit messy, especially since it sounds like a freeform elimatio--”

 

“Just tell me one thing. You gotta promise this too,” Kokichi said, seeming to drag along his words. What could be so important that he was beating around the bush for?

 

“What is it? We need to get going,” I said, trying to gesture toward the black portal. I saw Kokichi’s face turn sour, one of his arms pulling away as his mouth reflectively bit his thumb.

 

“Tell me you love me. Please. I get this aching feeling that my personality is going to tank once we cross that. And, if I act the way you guys have taught me these past few  whenevers, no one is ever going to say that to me again…and you’re the only one that’ll know everything about what’s going on. You need to promise to keep loving me until the end, okay,” Kokichi spoke, biting down on his  thumb. I watched as blood pooled against his teeth, dripping to the bed below. When I pulled myself closer, unsure of what else to do, I took Kokichi’s body against mine. He couldn’t go weak on me until the end. This was only the beginning of the lies we would have to tell each other. To other people. To everyone.

 

“Hah, you almost got me there, you fucking liar,” I said, crashing my lips into Kokichi’s. During this moment, I began to tip both of our bodys over into the black portal.

 

As we fell, I could’ve sworn I felt Kokichi hold me tighter, and whisper, “I know."

 

([19 1 22 5 21-19.](https://goo.gl/forms/ZQ23iHmWdTQrW6yZ2))

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudo, Comment, Whatever! Thanks for following the story to its 20th chapter ^_^ It's all downhill for here...
> 
>  
> 
> Ok, that was my one allotted pun for this series.


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Whew, new chapter! Not gonna be much in terms of audience participation until this weekend due to plot needing to happen. Thanks for following me so far guys! Adjectives added in the survey will be used for next chapter.

If it weren’t for that chick Maki making threats toward my life, I don’t know what I’d be doing now. My memory came flushing into my brain once Kaede held my hand, forcing all the unpleasant  truths of the situation to shatter the fake memories that were being instilled into me. I spent a few minutes curled up on the floor, balling as I cried over everything. Over needing to join one of my least favorite game genres. Over leaving my lack luster life for an even dimmer one. Over being left with some blonde cunt playing with my emotions. Over being...left behind, by Kokichi. No. I couldn’t think that way. I had to believe in Kokichi until the end. It was up to him to fix this killing game mess after all. Once I got my bearings back together, Maki slapped a line of colorful code on the ground. We crowded around it, but I could feel everyone’s eyes on me to get things figured out. I was horrible at logic codes like this. Kokichi, though with excessive teasing, helped me through these things. 

  


 

“Well detective? What does this even mean? From those weird bears that showed up, they told us our names needed to spell out that code. Sure, we have numbers, but I’m not sure if our actual names have anything to do with it too,” Maki asked, prodding at my hand. I could feel my muscles tense, unsure of what to make out of such a long serial number. All of our numbers had been randomly assigned by whoever makes these stupid games up! It’d be a miracle if we found others whose numbers aligned to this very specific code...wait… 

 

“I have a question. Since I was, er, out of focus, what else did those bears say,” I asked, “I think I’m starting to understand this. I just need a few things clarified. ”

 

“Those bears claimed to be ‘Monokubs’, whatever that means.They said that we’re supposed to gather people whose names equal that serial number. If the bears meant we’re supposed to ‘add’ our numbers to equal that or by some other calculation, I am unsure. What are you thinking,” Maki asked, grabbing my face to look at her. 

 

I grumbled, attempting to slip out of her grasp but she only held onto my chin tighter. Maybe this cunt should be the ultimate childcare person with how she handled us like kids.

 

“W-Well...the way some of the numbers are organized caught my eye. Single digit numbers are  spelled out as ‘0 number’ instead of just ‘number’. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to test my theory, but, I wonder...if the auditioners have their numbers coded the same way the code does,” I said, brandishing my strange wristband.I flipped my hand around, my palm toward the ceiling. The number “154” had been written in crimson on the black wristband. It was a tinge foreboding when I first saw the number appear in line with my vein, but I had to keep fighting. Kokichi promised he’d save me, save everyone, and eventually, we could go back to our peaceful lives. I couldn’t let whatever switch in my brain force me into whatever bullshit this game wants me to believe.  I watched as Maki’s eyes turned to view my number, briefly taking her eyes off me to scan mine. Maki let out a gentle sigh after confirming the sight, letting go of my chin.

 

“I unfortunately have a three digit number as well, so we cannot investigate further...but this will become handy in confirming the numbers people say they are,” Maki responded, flipping her wrist up so we could view her number too, “I get the feeling there’s going to be a lot of lying. People with numbers three, seven, and nine are going to be scrambling for a group. Especially anyone who has a combination of those numbers.” I sighed as well, worried about this weird code puzzle. If they provided a pencil and paper, I could maybe try to write out the alphabet matching with the numbers, but, doing it all mentally would be draining. I wish Kokichi were here. We’d all be moved through the last motions of this stupid killing game audition with less of this problem-solving. I began to look around the dimly lit room. We hadn’t move since we arrived at the theatre, since it appeared to be the most secure place to make plans. Two people in white cloaks guarded the outside door. Inside, there was a set of five lounging chairs that looked like they came directly from a theatre itself. The chairs had faced toward a stage, blocked off by a pane of glass. The sound of the piano...something to do with those chords messed me up even worse. They forced a piece of me to become alive somehow. As if they awakened a part of me that I didn’t know even existed. I’d have to be careful around Kaede if she pulled something similar during the killing game. In addition, we were still crowded around a piece of paper that was now in Kaede’s hands, her thumbs holding onto the small edges of the paper. 

 

Kaede appeared to be deep in thought too, her eyes still looking forward at the piece of paper. Apparently, she had to shell out her piano skills to earn this...so did that mean she had a deal with one of the people organizing this? I wonder how the rest of the audition group managed to get this code; writing it down?  Or could it be displayed on a screen elsewhere? And, if anything, this proved Kaede to be more suspicious than before. I hadn’t received any external offers from the group for a favor...or would I even want to be a piece in this cog of a faux audition, if it didn’t mean Kokichi and I’s guaranteed escape? 

 

I took another look at Maki, who had been looking down at her number in thought...931. If we allowed her into our group, then we couldn’t allow anyone else with the number 9 or 3 in. That would limit our searches significantly. I heard Kaito begin to shout, to which Kaede, Maki and I looked over at him.

 

He had fallen onto his ass, screaming as he tried pushing his wristband off. Thin lines of blood began to show up around his wrist areas, proof of how cowardly this fuck was. Ugh. Hopefully we could shake him out of our group somehow. Or could he be used as killing fodder during the killing game? 

 

“Get it off, it’s writing something somehow, stop it, stop it,” screamed Kaito, trying to press the wristband off with all his might. Maki was the first to act, running over to Kaito. But, before Maki could console the idiot any further away from his idiocy, something I had only seen in video games popped up in front of Kaito. The Monokuma. A black-and-white plushie with the infamous red eye. 

 

“Now don’t do something silly like that, Mr.Kaito #01. If you do, you’ll blow to smithereens. Ms. Junko took it upon herself to up the stakes a bit. That included an update the wristband information to match the code you students need to align with,” Monokuma spoke, seeming to flashstep onto Kaito’s shoulder.

 

“What is the stupid fucking thing,” Kaitos screamed out, “What’s even happening anymore!??! How was this the 2nd round of auditions,” Kaito kept going on with his panicky demeanor, ranting about how it was ‘unfair we didn’t get our wristbands formatted properly’ and that ‘the company shouldn’t alter things without the participates consent.’ And, in the typical Monokuma way, the bear just laughed his ass off. Ugh, even more annoying in the flesh if you ask me.

 

I took a quick glance to see Maki stewing in anger, likely upset by her idiot partner getting caught by one of the more dangerous pieces in this killing game audition. I decide to gauge how this made Kaede feel. Her eyes appeared a bit distraught, slowly balling up the code in her hand. Wait -- did the code she have not get okayed by everyone running this mess? 

 

As I opened my mouth to say something, Kaede covered her lips with one finger, taunting me as she opened her free hand in efforts to touch me. I stepped away from her,  standing beside Maki who had been facing Kaito. No, no way, fuck Kaede. She wasn’t going to manipulate me. But, at the same time, I wouldn’t snitch to get a benefit I could gain from taken away from the group.

 

“I guess that confirms it. Makes sense as to why there’s so many damn zeros in that code now,” Maki commented, crossing her arms as she watched Kaito stumble, fall, and  generally fear Monokuma to an extreme degree. Kaito floundered at Monokuma doing the most mundane thing, including his signature shy blush. This went on for a few minutes, Maki staying by my side, which, kept Kaede away from me for the time being.

 

Monokuma had transported in front of me, a disgusting grin on his face. What was on the agenda for him to mess with me for? 

 

“None of that matters anymore. Soon, two of you should see some familiar faces. See you at the finals, kids,” Monokuma stated, cackling as he sunk into a dark portal below him, “You’ll be shocked at what you may see.” 

 

As he sunk into the portal opened beforehand, I sucked at my teeth, wanting so badly to follow the bear and kick the ever loving shit at out of him. But I felt Maki grip my shoulder. And, for some reason, I had a feeling I knew what was coming next. Maki was too sharp not to caught onto the subtleties in Monokuma’s words. In addition, from the sounds of it, my boyfriend and weird green-haired idiot were joining us soon. I could only hope Kokichi could crack whatever code that was given to us. I felt Maki grip my shoulder harder, likely upset that I hadn’t been looking her way. Whatever. Once my boy toy got here, he’d make sure she’d assumed her place. Wait, did I just call Kokichi my...boy toy? I felt a blush come across my face, unwarranted. Just how badly did this “Team Danganronpa” mess with my head? I wouldn’t dare think of Kokichi in such a way...

 

“Speak up. What did that bear mean? Who is he? I want answers, now,” Maki demanded, her eyes like daggers as her head popped over to stare me in the eye. 

 

“Y-Y-Yeah, we deserve answers! That had to be the creepiest thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” Kaito added, his face half hiding behind one of the theatre chairs. What a fucking coward that guy was. I’d hate to see how he would act during the actual killing game. My eyes briefly went over to gaze at Kaito before Maki proceeded to stand in front of me, impatient, squeezing both of my shoulders. I heard some footsteps from behind get closer, Kaede now standing beside Maki and I. What was her motive now to talk, probably to keep me alive until Kokichi showed up? Or was she just going to touch me and control me as a puppet?

 

“Ehehe...I’ll answer that question I guess. No need for us to gang up on Shuichi for something like this. You see, Shuichi and I were part of a really special cohort. And, apparently, that almost guarantees our survival as long as we follow their rules.  If you and Kaito have numbers that match our roster, we’ll be happy to--” Kaede began to speak, but within an instant, Maki let go of me and picked Kaede up by her pink vest. I turned, watching Maki’s face twist into a frown, pulling Kaede in midair by the neck of her vest. I could only watch, half hoping Kaede would die by this girl’s hand. That would make things for Kokichi and I easier. 

 

“Enough. You’re clearly avoiding the part of the question that doesn’t benefit you. Spill it all, now,” Maki spoke, her voice low and gruff. I getting a little excited to be honest. No more Kaede meant they’d be a new one. And anything was better than this piano snob.  I kept my eyes focused on Kaede and Maki, sometimes letting my eyes drag over to the, for some reason, frightened Kaito. 

 

“H-Hey, you go Maki, but don’t choke her. She likes that, trust me, I know,” Kaito blurted out, most likely in some sad attempt at humor. I nor anyone else laughed in the room. Kaito’s words felt like the usual filler I’d hear in a Danganronpa game, but I couldn’t understand the part of his face that was still a bit hung up on fear. Kaito had been looking in our direction, shivering as he hid himself underneath the seat time and again. I turned my eyes back to Maki and Kaede, Maki beginning to slip her hands around Kaede’s throat. Oooh, spicy! I wish I had popcorn right now. I wonder if Kokichi would even intervene at this point. But, just in case we did need Kaede for some stupid reason, I guess I should throw her a bone. I grinned at her face as she gasped her air, looking straight at me. She knew I was the only one who could save her. I had her right where I needed her. This’ll serve as her payback for being such a cunt earlier and making my memories scramble. I proceeded to open my mouth, slowly, enjoying every second of suffering that cycled through Kaede’s face.

 

“That Monokuma thing is from the game we’re about to be stuck in. He’s the black-and-white bear that’s sort of the brand for,” I began to say, but I heard Monokuma’s stupid theme. That must mean he’s back in the room. I darted my eyes to the portal a few feet away from us to the left of Maki, Kaede, and myself. Sure enough, a black and white teddy was peering over at me in anger. 

 

“Not sort of, I  **am** the brand for Danganronpa! You better get it right kid,” Monokuma threatened, shaking his paw at me as he descended back into the black portal. The theme slowly tapered off, getting us back on track. Okaay, well, back to saving the slowly choking Kaede I guess. Maybe. My eyes moved back to her, Maki not letting up a bit since the beginning. I watched as tears began to fall from Kaede’s eyes, my mouth slowly opening once more.

 

“Kaede and I were recruited as the top protagonists, and with that, we get some extra benefits. The last piece of our benefits has yet to arrive, and if you kill that girl in your hands, you may be kissing your chance to live goodbye,” I explained, my grin slowly fading as Maki placed Kaede on the ground. Maki proceeded to turn to me, but a strange looking sword had been put between Maki and I. I followed the sword with my eyes, barely being able to resist the smile pulling at the corner of my eyes. 

 

Behind us had been Rantaro and Kokichi, dressed in character, and also, staring at  Maki. The sword in Rantaro’s hand had been thin, similar to a fencing sword but with a bit more metal to its body. The end of the sword was also similar to a fencing sword, with a fancy slice of curled up metal which Rantaro fed his fingers through. Kokichi stood beside Rantaro, a piece of paper in hand as he smiled at Maki. I struggled not to smile too, but he...looked so cool! He did that superhero type of entrance, but, now wasn’t the time to gush over Kokichi’s gained badassery. 

 

“I’d hate to get violent before the killing game actually begins. But, these are my orders,” Rantaro stated,  starting to swing his sword in Maki’s direction. 

 

Maki acted quickly, evading Rantaro’s blade with a duck as she tried to initiate a sweeping kick at Rantaro’s legs.

 

“Maki #931 is it? I would be careful on attacking my personal bodyguard. Otherwise, you may not make it to the final cut,” Kokichi said in his usual cheeky manner, causing Maki’s leg to stop short of sweeping Rantaro’s from underneath his feet.

 

“And is that Kaito #1 hiding like a coward back there? Oh, come on out! We don’t have much time to find the rest of the cast. Otherwise, we’ll, you all may die,” Kokichi continued, the colors of his body inverting. One of his fingers had been placed near the corner of his cheek, Maki grunting at how the situation was turning out.

 

“W-Who are you and how the hell do you have my number, jackass,” Kaito exclaimed, climbing over the theatre seat as he ran toward Kokichi. 

 

Maki stopped Kaito with the extension of her arm, blocking Kaito’s body from going much further. Maki held no discrimination on giving anyone a scary glare, though, I knew we had her card. There’s no way she could fight 4 vs 1 with an idiot weighing her down.

 

“Nice to see you again, Kokichi,” Kaede said, though there was a hint of bitterness in her voice. Kaede was probably upset she wouldn’t be able to use her mind-bending touch on me again. Serves her right; hopefully she didn’t get off from being in the chokehold of alliances she caught herself in. My eyes danced around, seeing Kaito have a confused look on his face, pondering. What could an idiot be thinking of this time?

 

“Oh, nice to see you again Kaede! How about we leave this drafty old place and head out to the stadium again, huuuh? We don’t have much time,” Kokichi said, flipping the paper in his hand to reveal a similar barcode at the top with a list of names, “Some people on here may die because you’re so busy fighting me.” All of us jumped to observe the paper, the code at the top much similar to the paper Kaede had received. Maybe Kaede had been played by whoever tricked her to play the piano. I took a look over at her face, but, I couldn’t read her. She appeared to be just deep in thought, scanning the paper up and down. Damn. 

 

 

After everyone took a thorough look at the paper, all except Kaito agreed to head out to search for the rest of the people. Kaito seemed to be lost in thought. What the hell could he be thinking of as he reviewed the paper?

 

“Ok, serious question before we leave,” Kaito prefaced, though the question was likely to be stupid, “Are you and your bodyguard...together? I saw you guys were kissing when you went through the portal and the whole choking thing happened,” What? The moment I felt my mouth want to shove some serious ‘information’ down Kaito’s throat, Kokichi spoke before me.

 

“Oh, just the lucky ones. I was hoping to have more of an audience when we came in. I just wanted everyone to know who my boyfriend really is,” Kokichi said, his eyes scanning everyone before stopping on mine, “ Haha, that’s a lie! Rantaro just can’t help but keep his hands all over me! He even insisted on locking lips before we got here.” 

 

Oh...oh...he’s gonna get it. Maybe not now, maybe not during the killing game, but Kokichi Oma. Be prepared to get the greatest ass kicking of your life when we get out of here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For cases where AO3 is down or you can't get on the website otherwise, I also post this story on my Tumblr as well! I'll link it below, and like always, thanks for reading! 
> 
> ^_^ 
> 
> Tumblr: http://evilback-wards.tumblr.com


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New Chapter, some teased backstory for Rantaro! I hope you enjoy! Also, sorry, no adjectives until *next* chapter. Plot got in the way this chapter lol.

I don’t understand. I don’t understand anything. My mom, these weird people, why I have this knife… 

 

I sat in a black leather chair, my head leaning back as I stared at the knife against one of the ceiling lights. I couldn’t believe I was already of age, 18, and my birthday present is to undergo this mess. I told my mom I would’ve been fine with an upgraded boat, a new navigation system, or any of the smaller things. But she wouldn’t care about that. She insisted that this game  could offer us the world. That this game could give me very specific guidelines to find my sister. I had to take the bait and run with it. I couldn’t just ignore an obvious sign to find her. The moment I agreed, a swarm of people in black suits took us. I was drugged, promptly passed out, and...the rest feels really blurry. I was brought into this room, with thousands of the same symbol repeating on endlessly. I remember watching the scenery around me, in a daze, switch over to a pink pastel room.

 

My sister is dead.

 

M͉y͓͎̳̮͕͞ͅͅ ̞̮͎̰̳s̭̹̻͙͓͔͎i̢͎̩̟͚̘s̘͈̳̰̼̭ͅte̯̣͚̗r͘ ͕͉̩͚ͅi̯s̵̗̹̝̼ ̩͚͍̩ḏ͇̖͕͞e҉͙͚̺͖a̫͇̠̦̘d̼͇̗?  
̴̩̪  
̣͠M̯̦͔͇̫̖̩y͖͇͚͓͠ s͎̟͈̭̪̲̥͝i͇̮̙̲͙͕s̳̙͡t̫̫͎͔͓̕e͙͢ṛ ̬͉̹ͅi̙̗͙̬̞s͎͈̥̫.̷̟.̞͞.̝̤͔͍

 

I saw her face. It was dripping with blood, a ripped piece of skin hanging from her chin. Her back had several weapons shoved into it,  sometimes falling out as she took steps toward me. I couldn’t run away. I was the last one left, according to the announcer. My mom chose to kill me last? Her black hair shined in the spotlight above me, raising her spear as she aimed. Her eyes...were gone. Empty of any sign of humanity. Eyebrows caked with dried blood. Eyelashes dripping with sweat. Her mouth let out forced laughs, her arms shaking as she struggled to aim the weapon toward me.

 

“Isn’t this the grandest adventure of your journeys, son,”

 

I had to. The knife was in my hands. So I used the knife the knife the knife S̸̿̋̋̀̓ͮ̈͗͊̚҉͎̗̫͔̱̙̖͎̩̦̭̫͍õ̴̸̤̼̞̲͈͈̣̳̤̳͔̥͎̱͙͕̻͋ͥ͑̇ͣ̈ͩͬ̐̈́̅̌ͥ͠͞ ̷̠͚̲̳̠̝̮ͥ͑ͦ͂ͤͥ͛̋͡Ì̡̏͛̓҉̵͓͕̙̹̥͔͚͎͉͕͕̯͕ ͮ̋̽͒̎͝҉̥̖͈͚̼͉͔̟̘͈̰̠̭̝͉̟͖͈̘uͬ̾ͤ͐̉͑͐ͬ̾͋̃̐ͩͭ͌͗͏̣̣̠̳̱͔͈͞s̓̓̀̓̏͐ͬͯ̀̿͏̧̼̺̲̹̳̰͉̥͕͙̰͟e̪̳̘͚̪ͣͧ͋̅̾̇̋̏̔̍̔̀͒̽̃ͥ̓̎ͫ͘d̡̛̺͙̲̰͇̳̖͕̪̮̹̞̙̥̬͚̙͍̔̔̉ͩ̓ͣͤ͆̍̅̚ ̷͎͔̖͇̱͆ͬ́̂͒̈ͥ̐ͩͥ͝tͧͤͩ̉̌͛̃̎͒ͩ̓ͮ҉̸̧̻͉͇̯̙͡ͅh̶̓͂ͭ̄͏͏̢̝̝̜̥̠̮̩͎ȇ̺̣̺̱̟̜̬̼̮̣͍͈̟̙̰̌͋ͤ͛̓͛͒̃̓̓͆ͣͩͧ̆͛̚͢ ̷̧̫̻͕̲̜̰͎̮̥̤̙͔͚͓̬͆̒̈̈́̆ͨ̄͒̈͒̄̂̄͘͢͟k̡̳̺͕̟̙̩͇͉̯͕̠͖̒ͦ̌͒̌̿ͬ̾͗ͨ̀̚̕͡n̙̟̳̪̗̱̤͕̺͆ͯ̏ͯ̿̐ͤ̄͂ͣͤ͐̐̓͜͠ĩ̴̩̺͔͍̞͍̘͕̰̠̫̺̘ͣ̈̐̄͡f̶̴̤̰͇̟͇̮̠̭̋̂̾ͬ́ͧ̆͐ͬ̒̌͘e̙͓͖̠ͦͨͮ͛̅̈ͦ̄͌ͨ̋͜͞ ̘̦͎̞̦͙̮̣̝̩̰͇̝̌̿͒̊ͩ̏̀̌͆ͦͪ̉̇̿͐ͧ͊͘͝ͅtͪ̅́̈́͂ͩ̈́̔͂̇ͪͪͤ̋̂̉̿̚͏͍̜͈͙̠̝̬̘̝͈̬͕͈̙͚̟̜͍͡h̢̨͈̭͖͖̩̲̼̺̼̥̳̣̦̬̥͉͙̤͂͐̈́͂̕ȩ̸̡͎͙̮̝͇͖̬̮ͦ̑͆͌̈́ͣ̿͐͂̓͛̽̓ ̶̢͖͖͍̩̞̼̤͇̺ͨ͗ͩ̅́ͯ̈́ķ̖͕̟̠̰̹̫͉̩̮͎̠̙̙̰̖͎͙̆̀ͨ́̑ͭͩͯ̆̂ͭ̾̒ͬ͜͝ņ̪̦̝̱̭̭̬̭̪́̋ͬ̓̏͑̂̊̈̇͒ȉͫͭ̔̍ͤ̈́̌̇̔̌̂̿ͯ͒͏̷̸̧̣̺̺̮̘̺͖̮͍̞̙͓͢f̴̧̛̰̮͍͙͇̼̻͕̠̞̜͎̯̠̪̭̙͖̝̀ͣ̊̓̉͝͝e͐̆͐̉̆̐̒͛҉̨̱͔̩̹̱̳͎̜̘̫̜̟͚͢͟ ̸̷̦̖̦̗̱̦̗͙͔͇͇̩͔̝̼͔̹́ͫ͛̿ͪ̌ͭͧ͂̓͒́ͦ̿̔̅̾t̴̢̬͖͓͉̞̳̻͕͎ͭͫ̎ͬ̃͂̈̇̉͂̃ͫ͒̽̈h̸̶̘̹̪̟̗̮̝̤͎̩͖͈͙̖̱̯̞͈ͨͩͨ̄̓̏̇ͨ̈͠͡ȩ̘̲̣̞̳̫̮̯̞̼̖͎͌̃ͮ͆̀̑ͦ̒̔̓ͯ͋͑̆ͥ̊ͧͣ͋͜ ̸̭̣͙͈̠͎̲̦̱͍͇̟̜ͨ̈͛̇̈́ͥ̆ͥ̂̆͋͆̽ͣ̃̎ͦ̿̋͝͠͞k̸̡̳̝̻͚̲̦͈̬̺͍̉̓ͧ͋ͥͤ̑͒̄͂͝͞ṅ̛̹̣̪͕̬̼̖̖̲̳̤̞̱̯͈̣̟̉͒ͨͥ̈́͗̄̿͋͑̈͟ͅͅi̤̹̘͎̤̜̐̎́͞fͧͧͣͤ͑ͥ̅͏̷͓̯̠͇̠̪e͗ͬ͒̇̋̆̉̓̿͐̎̒̑ͧ̈̚͘͘͡͏̲̯̹͚̘

  
  
S̸̿̋̋̀̓ͮ̈͗͊̚҉͎̗̫͔̱̙̖͎̩̦̭̫͍õ̴̸̤̼̞̲͈͈̣̳̤̳͔̥͎̱͙͕̻͋ͥ͑̇ͣ̈ͩͬ̐̈́̅̌ͥ͠͞ ̷̠͚̲̳̠̝̮ͥ͑ͦ͂ͤͥ͛̋͡Ì̡̏͛̓҉̵͓͕̙̹̥͔͚͎͉͕͕̯͕ ͮ̋̽͒̎͝҉̥̖͈͚̼͉͔̟̘͈̰̠̭̝͉̟͖͈̘uͬ̾ͤ͐̉͑͐ͬ̾͋̃̐ͩͭ͌͗͏̣̣̠̳̱͔͈͞s̓̓̀̓̏͐ͬͯ̀̿͏̧̼̺̲̹̳̰͉̥͕͙̰͟e̪̳̘͚̪ͣͧ͋̅̾̇̋̏̔̍̔̀͒̽̃ͥ̓̎ͫ͘d̡̛̺͙̲̰͇̳̖͕̪̮̹̞̙̥̬͚̙͍̔̔̉ͩ̓ͣͤ͆̍̅̚ ̷͎͔̖͇̱͆ͬ́̂͒̈ͥ̐ͩͥ͝tͧͤͩ̉̌͛̃̎͒ͩ̓ͮ҉̸̧̻͉͇̯̙͡ͅh̶̓͂ͭ̄͏͏̢̝̝̜̥̠̮̩͎ȇ̺̣̺̱̟̜̬̼̮̣͍͈̟̙̰̌͋ͤ͛̓͛͒̃̓̓͆ͣͩͧ̆͛̚͢ ̷̧̫̻͕̲̜̰͎̮̥̤̙͔͚͓̬͆̒̈̈́̆ͨ̄͒̈͒̄̂̄͘͢͟k̡̳̺͕̟̙̩͇͉̯͕̠͖̒ͦ̌͒̌̿ͬ̾͗ͨ̀̚̕͡n̙̟̳̪̗̱̤͕̺͆ͯ̏ͯ̿̐ͤ̄͂ͣͤ͐̐̓͜͠ĩ̴̩̺͔͍̞͍̘͕̰̠̫̺̘ͣ̈̐̄͡f̶̴̤̰͇̟͇̮̠̭̋̂̾ͬ́ͧ̆͐ͬ̒̌͘e̙͓͖̠ͦͨͮ͛̅̈ͦ̄͌ͨ̋͜͞ ̘̦͎̞̦͙̮̣̝̩̰͇̝̌̿͒̊ͩ̏̀̌͆ͦͪ̉̇̿͐ͧ͊͘͝ͅtͪ̅́̈́͂ͩ̈́̔͂̇ͪͪͤ̋̂̉̿̚͏͍̜͈͙̠̝̬̘̝͈̬͕͈̙͚̟̜͍͡h̢̨͈̭͖͖̩̲̼̺̼̥̳̣̦̬̥͉͙̤͂͐̈́͂̕ȩ̸̡͎͙̮̝͇͖̬̮ͦ̑͆͌̈́ͣ̿͐͂̓͛̽̓ ̶̢͖͖͍̩̞̼̤͇̺ͨ͗ͩ̅́ͯ̈́ķ̖͕̟̠̰̹̫͉̩̮͎̠̙̙̰̖͎͙̆̀ͨ́̑ͭͩͯ̆̂ͭ̾̒ͬ͜͝ņ̪̦̝̱̭̭̬̭̪́̋ͬ̓̏͑̂̊̈̇͒ȉͫͭ̔̍ͤ̈́̌̇̔̌̂̿ͯ͒͏̷̸̧̣̺̺̮̘̺͖̮͍̞̙͓͢f̴̧̛̰̮͍͙͇̼̻͕̠̞̜͎̯̠̪̭̙͖̝̀ͣ̊̓̉͝͝e͐̆͐̉̆̐̒͛҉̨̱͔̩̹̱̳͎̜̘̫̜̟͚͢͟ ̸̷̦̖̦̗̱̦̗͙͔͇͇̩͔̝̼͔̹́ͫ͛̿ͪ̌ͭͧ͂̓͒́ͦ̿̔̅̾t̴̢̬͖͓͉̞̳̻͕͎ͭͫ̎ͬ̃͂̈̇̉͂̃ͫ͒̽̈h̸̶̘̹̪̟̗̮̝̤͎̩͖͈͙̖̱̯̞͈ͨͩͨ̄̓̏̇ͨ̈͠͡ȩ̘̲̣̞̳̫̮̯̞̼̖͎͌̃ͮ͆̀̑ͦ̒̔̓ͯ͋͑̆ͥ̊ͧͣ͋͜ ̸̭̣͙͈̠͎̲̦̱͍͇̟̜ͨ̈͛̇̈́ͥ̆ͥ̂̆͋͆̽ͣ̃̎ͦ̿̋͝͠͞k̸̡̳̝̻͚̲̦͈̬̺͍̉̓ͧ͋ͥͤ̑͒̄͂͝͞ṅ̛̹̣̪͕̬̼̖̖̲̳̤̞̱̯͈̣̟̉͒ͨͥ̈́͗̄̿͋͑̈͟ͅͅi̤̹̘͎̤̜̐̎́͞fͧͧͣͤ͑ͥ̅͏̷͓̯̠͇̠̪e͗ͬ͒̇̋̆̉̓̿͐̎̒̑ͧ̈̚͘͘͡͏̲̯̹͚̘

 

“Rantaro, snap out of it! We need to get into formation,” Maki said with a slap to my face. Aha...I guess I deserved that. I had a sheepish smile on my face, apologizing up and down. It’s all one like me could do in a situation like this. Apologize like the idiot I am. Help out these teens. Hopefully, at best, end the killing game. I watched Kokichi give Maki a particularly nasty stink eye, outlining that I could be ordered to ‘kill upon his request’. That’s right; I kill on request only. Not out of mercy. Not out of  pain. Simply out of the need to get onto the next stage to stop this madness. 

 

Our group was a total of six students so far; Maki, Kaito, Shuichi, Kaede, Kokichi, and myself. We were thankful that no one outside of the number group had already been on board, otherwise, we may have been in for a fight. 

 

Despite Maki’s opposition to follow orders at first, everyone came around to joining the group effort to survive. When we originally exited the theatre room, two cloaked guards gestured for us to follow. After being fed through several turns,  we made it to an ending hallway, seeming to be directly connected to the killing game. A large pane of glass with door stood before us. The cloaked guards stood on either end of the door, their faces toward the ceiling. Above the glass read a sign stating “WARNING: KILLING GAME RULES EFFECTIVE BEYOND THIS POINT”. 

 

If I was thinking correctly, we were on our way out of the control base. While the killing game had been dangerous, those running this thing insisted that the control room be  stationed so close to the killing game happenings. I didn’t understand it. I wanted to forget it all. I wanted to white-out the memory of all of this. But, no, I needed to face the truth. The truth that my mother...no, I needed to focus. I can’t afford to get slapped my Maki again, else Kokichi may take it upon himself to order something selfish.

 

After some more unfortunate squabbling, we decided to move forward in pairs. Among all suggestions made(one including an *extremely* selfish appeal made by Kokichi to separate by gender), we decided on a very particular format. Kokichi and I would follow the pack, likely for security reasons and Kokichi not entirely trusting Maki. Maki and Kaito would be in the front for “damage control”, Kokichi allowing Maki to protect us as some sort of meat shield. While it sounded practical on surface level, part of me felt he did it just to keep a close  eye on the two. Shuichi and Kaede were in the middle, for protection reasons beyond my understanding. The mastermind clearly favored these two above the other 20 some of them running amuck in the stadium. There was no reason for them to really need any additional security. But, then, I recalled how things ended up with Shuichi and Kokichi their last night of being fully human. How Kokichi promised to protect Shuichi despite it all. What a strange feeling I got watching them, seeing them interact and...wishing I had something similar. But, all I had been now was what everyone needed to be. I couldn’t get too selfish now and started to want more than what I was needed for. 

 

“How are we going about scouting for the rest of the students? You claimed some could already be dead, Kokichi,” Maki asked, taking a look back at Kokichi. I watched him pull his iconic grin, laughing that strange horse-esque laugh we taught him. That was going to get annoying once it was more commonplace. 

 

“Oh, don’t worry about that part! I already know based off their numbers a good backup plan. Now, onward my classmates,” Kokichi said, laughing at the end as he proceeded to point toward the exit of the hallway. I saw both cloak figures gesture toward the outside, the pane of glass the only thing separating us from the insanity of auditions. 

 

“Once this threshold is crossed, we can no longer ensure your safety,” the cloaked one on the right said, the one on the left finishing, “You now have one hour to find the remaining classmates. Should you fail, lady Junko will execute a punishment to your class. This punishment will take place after you are in the domain of the killing game.” Ok, good to know. I let out a sigh, running a hand through my hair. I hope the stress wasn’t too visible on my face. An hour wasn’t too long to find 10 other classmates, one that will end up being Junko in disguise.

 

“Alright, let’s do this guys,” Kaito announced, slamming both of his fists together in front of him, “We can do it!” 

 

“Tough talk for someone who hid when the two of us showed up,” Kokichi sneered, ended with laughter, “But, I get it, you’re excited. Try not to get yourself killed out there.” Kaito turned to face Kokichi, his face appearing clearly angry, but knew better than to move forward with violence.

 

While Kaito moved his arms to his sides, balling them up into fist, I couldn’t really read him that well.  Kaito Momota is supposed to be the hot headed one in the bunch, but, this one felt a bit too docile for my liking. His actual personality still seemed to persistently fight the urge to give into his in-game persona. I hadn’t seen a group of students last this long in their previous personality. But, maybe after crossing the threshold, things would change. I watched as Kaito gradually moved to turn toward the door. His fists were  slowly cooling down to hands again, one arm stretching toward the door.

  
“Understood,” Kaito replied, placing a hand on the glass door before us, “We ready?”

 

As everyone gave their own versions of affirmation, I watched as Kokichi closed his eyes, as if to ponder on something. I saw Maki turn around completely, her legs stepping toward Kokichi before Kaito stopped her.  

 

“Hmm, I guess I better make one thing clear,” Kokichi said, his voice raising, “I am the undisputed leader in this group! I am the ultimate supreme leader, after all.”  Silence followed. Maki’s glared somehow managed to intensify, scanning us all down before she turned toward the glass pane, pushing it open. I couldn’t gauge the others reactions that well, focused on ensuring Maki didn’t do anything reckless.

 

“Very well. Let’s go,” Maki muttered. As Maki pushed herself through the door, I could only hope for the best. Please...let everyone on this list be alive.

 

([3-1-14 25-15-21 8-5-1-18 13-5¿](https://goo.gl/forms/rjlZUQCVjhtMVi6B3))

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> X3 Now the fun begins...or at least for Junko. Hope you've enjoyed the series thus far. Kudos, Comment, whatever!


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annd a new chapter! ^_^ I hope you guys enjoy it! Adjectives were used this chapter! Please let me know how I did with writing Angie's character!

 

Things were starting to flesh out to be...interesting. My idiot boyfriend has fully assumed his fictional role. Rantaro seems to be acting as some sort of sidekick to Kokichi. And, overall, my only ally at this point would be myself. I tried to keep myself quiet for the most part, to deter attention, but it was difficult. I really wanted to give Kokichi a firm talking to regarding his...character development. But, was there any saving the true Kokichi at this point? We were literally at the threshold of the very series he adored.

 

I watched as Maki and Kaito crossed the glass door before us, taking a few steps out of the door before abruptly stopping. I was tempted to follow, to see what may have been the issue. When I took a step forward, I felt a hand grip the back of my uniform. As I looked behind me to see who it had been, a similar impish grin was upon me. Ugh, I rolled my eyes at him, tugging away at his grasp.

 

“I won’t leave this hallway without your order, _leader_ ,” I muttered, attempting to bat away Kokichi’s grip. His hand loosened his grip on my clothes, slowly releasing his hold from the fabric. I exchanged worried looks with Kaede before she turned to face the door once more.

 

“Good,”  Kokichi stated, laughing as he pointed toward the doorway, “Because that’s what happens when you decide not to listen!”

  


I turned around to see Maki and Kaito standing beside each other, their hands covering their mouth and nose. There was about a 30 second window of doing this, in combination of the two stepping around haphazardly and struggling to walk. But, soon after that 30 second lag, the two had fallen to their knees, the sound of their wheezing rousing a bit of concern in my head. What could be going on out there? Maki had managed to turn around while Kaito was laying on his back still. I watched intently, Kaito’s stomach seeming to be suppressed by an invisible force. Maki seemed to had caught onto this, facing her belly toward the ground as she began to crawl toward the opened doorway on all fours. Maki’s body was close to the ground, her eyes squarely aimed at Kokichi. What was going on?

 

“Kokichi...this is your plotting, isn’t it?” muttered Maki, her eyes dark and low as her crawling came to a dead stop only inches away from the door opening. Her face appeared to be sweaty, her entire body shivering. I wanted to get closer, to help them, but...I also didn’t want to disobey Kokichi. What if he was actually trying to protect me? There was a distinct smell of almonds coming from the room that I could detect, and the moment I noticed, I attempted to reach out and close the glass door.

 

“Fuck, we walked right into this trap,” wheezed Kaito, squeezing his stomach as he struggled to breathe, “You assholes!” Maki appeared to be not much better off, panting heavily, her body unable to come across the doorway. Before I had the time to shut the door close, a large white cloud of smoke appeared in the doorway.

 

“I knew we forgot something! Their outfits! They’re still real people, real people can’t survive in a place like this,” a feminine voice shouted out. It sounded familiar, but, I couldn’t really connect who it could be. The smoke that had been blowing around clouded the area, making it difficult to see much. I kept backing up until I felt hands wrap around me. My eyes searched, but then, my body remembered this embrace...his hands were just below my waist, tugging me close to his body. His face felt stuffed into my back, nuzzling it lovingly with his face. Kokichi...somewhere inside, I know you’re there now. I think I understand now. You can’t be yourself. These people aren’t letting you be you. It’s like a scripted reality TV show. You got lines, you need to follow them. I tried not to laugh, starting to think back to that day in the treehouse. What I thought my ideal life would be. It seems as though our fates have been switched.

 

As Kokichi’s arms held me tighter, the smoke beginning to dissipate into the hallway ahead, I heard a voice. It was soft, a whisper, and sounded very much like Kokichi. Hell, it probably was his voice if I was being honest. But...I couldn’t match up the coupled words with his current attitude. There was just too much of a juxtaposition. So, I had to take it as it is; Kokichi’s final words. The _real_ Kokichi’s final words before the killing game.

 

_I’m sorry._

 

Before the smoke completely cleared, Kokichi’s arms were detached from my waist. I took a look around to survey the area after my vision came back.  Kaede had been held close by Rantaro, her face shinging a bright red. Kokichi had been standing beside me, grinning up at me in character. But, deep down, I knew there had been pain somewhere. The same pain I felt, but likely heavier, with the weight of the world on him.  I tried not to let my eyes stay glued to him too long, looking over at the source of the smoke.

 

A pink stuffed pair along with a green one showed up right before our eyes, blocking the door in front us. The pink bear looked over at me, then out of the doorway. Multiple sweat drops formed on her brow, teetering between the entryway. The green bear, however, appeared to be standing in one place, silent. The green one appeared to be heavily mechanic, with stereotypical robot arms as arms. You’d expect Monokuma to show up at times like these. I guess these are just Monokuma ripoffs, but sent for more tedious tasks.

 

“HERE-YOU-ARE. CLOTHES-FOR-THE-ULTIMATES,” spoke a robotic voice, likely from the green bear as I watched him stiffly turn around in a circle, and then, his speed quickened. I furrowed my brow, watching intently to see what exactly the bears meant by “clothes”.  I took a look at Maki and Kaito, whose bodies began to glow brightly. W-What? I started to feel myself wheeze, holding onto my chest tight. My vision was starting to become less...3D? Less Realistic? I wasn’t sure what to make of everything. My original personality felt like it was beginning to be drained. I...I love her, no, I don’t love that blonde piano freak!

 

I took one final review of the area around me. Kaito and Maki’s entire body began to be ate up by a bright light, their real bodies no longer being visible...my vision gradually scrolled to see Kaede, Rantaro, and Kokichi unaffected. I started to see a bright light gradually consume my vision, Kaede beginning to shout some sort of nonscene I couldn’t hear...oh well. Not like she ever says anything that matters.

 

Kokichi. When we get out of this mess, I’m going to pound your ass...just the way...you like it...

 

.    .   .

* * *

 

 

Atua is testing me. But, with all the blessing that have been brought into my life, it is but a simple price.

 

I was in my usual prayer position, but with my eyes open. My typical sculpting hammer had been tainted by blood, sitting to the right of my person. I wished I could have used it to erect art, but, the situations has become more deadly than I would imagine.  The area around me had been filled with hostile groups, struggling to calculate what people they needed to be a cleared group per Junko’s orders. Tenko stood beside me, her weapon in hand as she scanned the crowd for any “degenerate males”. I insisted to Tenko that other people, of any gender, could also attack us. It was at that point which Tenko deferred me to deal with the rest. I agreed, as Atua would forgive us if we killed for own protection! I just needed to keep focus on what we needed to do moving forward. Perhaps reviewing recent events would keep me at peace?

 

After Keebo shut off abruptly, things have gone downhill. The woman who had slain Miu #84 began a killing spree for those not in pairs. The strange girl I’ve come to know as Tenko first joined me to avoid being slaughtered. The true first blessing from Atua came in that form. The next blessing came from the treasure trove of items that began to flood the hallways; a variety of items began to spill from the walls! Those of us who survived proceeded to horde such items. Tenko herself grabbed a single weapon. It appeared to be two pieces of black painted wood with chains connecting the two.

 

When groups approached us to join, I was skeptical of most. Atua kept telling me there’d be a group somewhere out there, waiting for me and the rest of my group, ready to start the journey to freedom. The groups tended to err on similar characters, a group of “Kaito’s” or a pair of a few groupings begging us to join their group. Tenko and I had developed a stringent way of getting on board with any groups.

 

First, they had to prove their current group met the conditions of the serial code. Second, they needed to show our numbers would assist them. Typically, after the first step, the group would realize that Atua couldn’t help them with their disorganized grouping. Other times, the group would realize would were not compatible. However, one particular group of three males had to get divine punishment from Tenko and I.

 

“So, you girls think you’re better than us,” I could recall one of them, distinctively a Kaito, yell at our faces. They had spears and other cumbersome weapons, poor choices for those not adept to combat. They shoved their spears in our faces, as if to intimate us. Their gender helped none as Tenko held little back. Tenko prepped her weapon, swiftly feeding one black piece of wood directly at his forehead. Oh, how silly the guys were for messing with us girls. Little did they know we had Atua on our side!

 

In no more than a minute, we dealt with the two Kaito’s in the group that were being overly aggressive. We pounded their skulls in with our respective weapons, their blood unfortunately tainting the blessings Atua had gifted us. Even worse, their final friend…no? Okay! Atua has spoken; I will keep a watch out for Keebo and wait for the promise group to sweep us away! No need for anymore useless exposition, Atua says!

 

…

* * *

 

 

“Ooh? My cute whittle bears messed up? Ah, whatever,” Monokuma said to us, laughing, “It’s not like there’s any real damage done. That Maki has actually been trained to handle a certain threshold of poison. And, well, that Kaito will have an interesting piece to his backstory added now!” The idiotic bear continued to cackle, dragging Shuichi’s body passed the glass door boundary. I flinched upon hearing that laugh again, a͎̼͎n̲̖̙̦̱͓̭͢d̘̝̼ t̫̟̹͝h̹ȩ̣̦͍̻̭ ̯͓̰k̭͓̪̼̼n̤̱̳ͅḭͅͅf̘̲͈̝͡e͉͇̮̟̩̩͜ͅ ̦̣̜aņ̬̝̦̪̱̙͉d̪ ͎̼̘͈t̞͇̼̰h͏e̲͙̪̞ ̺̤̱k̨̺n͎̻͡į̝̜ͅf͔̦e̵ ̳̜͉a̙̗͉̰̖n͕̮̲̙̼ͅd͔̫͙̘̼̗̦ ̫̻̬͖̩t͢h̦̝̞̖̤e ̣̖͠k̗͖͕͢n̷͓̞i̪͖̥̲̜f̳͎͜e̼͕̹̤͔

 

a͎̼͎n̲̖̙̦̱͓̭͢d̘̝̼ t̫̟̹͝h̹ȩ̣̦͍̻̭ ̯͓̰k̭͓̪̼̼n̤̱̳ͅḭͅͅf̘̲͈̝͡e͉͇̮̟̩̩͜ͅ ̦̣̜aņ̬̝̦̪̱̙͉d̪ ͎̼̘͈t̞͇̼̰h͏e̲͙̪̞ ̺̤̱k̨̺n͎̻͡į̝̜ͅf͔̦e̵ ̳̜͉a̙̗͉̰̖n͕̮̲̙̼ͅd͔̫͙̘̼̗̦ ̫̻̬͖̩t͢h̦̝̞̖̤e ̣̖͠k̗͖͕͢n̷͓̞i̪͖̥̲̜f̳͎͜e̼͕̹̤͔

  


I watched along with Kaede  and Kokichi as Monokuma dragged Shuichi’s body next to Kaito and Maki.

 

“What exactly do our clothes activate,” Kaede asked, watching as Monokuma gently placed a hat upon Shuichi’s head. I couldn’t believe the group made such a big mistake myself, though, I couldn’t break character. I noticed the inconsistently as soon as we arrived. Kaede had been given her proper outfit while the other three remained clothed in their high school uniforms. As a safety precaution from last cycle, any “human” characters that enter Killing Game grounds are poisoned with a high concentration of cyanide. This is to deter the hard set characters from rebelling during the audition vein. While it could ‘save hundreds of lives’ by having such a stringent rule, it was such a contradiction in itself. They were already letting the teens kill each other, all they were doing was adding another layer to the plot. I balled my hand up in a fist, wanting so badly to end this now. But, no, I needed to follow through. I had to keep in line with Kokichi’s plan. Kaede stood next to the three engulfed in light, likely kicking into character now that her “coded companion” was on his way to being complete. Ugh, sometimes I wish all this character development lingo would leave my memory.

 

“The clothes for your characters code your bodies as ‘fictional characters’, unlike your high school clothes. Once these three come to, they should be fully in character. So, be safe you gu-” Monokuma stated, but Kokichi cut him off at the end of his sentence. Kokichi moved from leaning against the glass door to walk over toward Monokuma.

 

“Will they be ok, I mean, my underlings need to be useful if I give them orders,” Kokichi asked, stopping short of standing directly in front of the brightened bodies, “Otherwise they’re just deadweight at this stage.” I winced as I heard Monokuma cackle, holding his tummy as he looked over at Kokichi. That bear looked too satisfied at all of this. It made my stomach churn the same way it did those years ago.

 

“Ahahaha, that sounds just like you to say. Rest assured, Kaito’s storyline element won’t be put in play until *after* the killing game begins,” Monokuma explained, a new black portal forming in front of him. Kokichi nodded to the bear, letting out a childish laugh. I should become used to him acting like this; acting like he doesn’t care at all.

 

“Perfect, thank you Monokuma,” Kokichi spoke, bowing to the bear with a wave to top off the grandiose acting. It made me sick, but it was needed. We had to lie to reach a better truth from the surface. If we don’t, well, we wouldn’t be able to end the killing game.

 

“Your welcome, Top Candidate,” Monokuma replied, hopping into the black portal beneath him. As Monokuma disappeared, so did the black portal. Kokichi turned his back to the three, waving me forward.

 

“Don’t just stand there bodyguard, we need to get moving. Once you cross that door, your entire mind needs to be focused,” Kokichi said, hands on his hips, “And that’s an order!” I scanned Kokichi’s body, noting how tightly he was squeezing his sides and the tears barely forming at the edges of his eyes. I sighed, stretching a bit. Guess this means my mind will need to transform with my body once I cross this threshold.

 

“Ah, got it, leader. Once I cross over, I should have access to my ‘inventory’,” I replied, walking forward. I needed to do this. No matter the cost. Even if that means.

 

Means…

 

Means…

 

[REDACTED].

 

Oh great, another new measure of security to the killing game. I hate this.

 

[[15-21-13-1 6-15-18-7-15-20 18-5-6-5-18-5-14-3-5########](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1oGXn7yCpQEjsUbGOe_AGMoGLGWOFCu5fDGFl6K0iCMs/edit)]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudo, Comment, whatever! Thank you for following me and reading the story. I hope you enjoyed!


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And a new chapter! This one was split three ways so I did the two of the three choices. Just posting the adjectives since the survey itself got sort of gunked up! A break from audience participation for a bit. I hope y'all enjoy! Kirumi's character is really difficult to write, but I will try my best T-T

I couldn’t believe my eyes. Rantaro seemed to be an ultimate magician of the sorts. When Kokichi Rantaro and I began to discuss how we wanted to move forward, Rantaro suggested he make a vehicle. I was skeptical at first, but he insisted. Kokichi agreed as well, though with his usual stupid sarcasm.

 

Over the next few minutes I watched as Rantaro closed his eyes, placing his thumb at the base of his necklace. The metallic color of his necklace changed to a pale green color, stretching and moving about like some sort of puddy.  As much as I wanted to as questions, I recalled Rantaro stating he needed a clear conscious to summon anything. I took to focusing on the large green-and-black pixel area that began to show up in front of Rantaro. I made sure to steer clear of it, peeling Kokichi off of the grid. 

 

“But I wanna play with the squares,” grumbled Kokichi. I did the best I could to persuade him against such an idea, especially due to time constraints. I couldn’t let Kokichi break Rantaro’s concentration. If a vehicle of some sort would exist soon, I wanted to avoid messing up the process. As the minutes ticked by, Kokichi kept asking me annoying questions.

 

“You think it’s gonna be something fancy?”

 

“I hope it’s a mecha, what about you?”

 

“What if it’s a transformer?!?” 

 

I delighted his questions with head nods, keeping my eyes fixated on the green-and-black grid in front of me. Whatever this talent was, it would be worthy of protecting protag one for sure. 

 

Small black and green pixels were finishing off the engine portion, but, it was a working carriage...er, something of the sort. [There was as large white box receptacle hung over a set of four wheels, all hooked up cartoonishly to a engine wisping grey smoke at the back end. There was a cover of some sort at the top. In front, there had been room for about three people,a steering wheel balanced on a steel pipe feeding out from the bottom of the carriage. Varies levers among other objects were at the front of the carriage.](http://irishrosedrafts.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Wagon-3lr.jpg)

 

“Wow!” was all I could say, clasping my hands together as I adored such a creation. Would Rantaro be able to do such amazing stunts during the killing game too? This talent had been marvelous, fit for a queen as myself. This cast had been bursting with different types of people to protect me, and very few characters that I disliked. Being a protagonist should be easy! I watched as Rantaro let go of his necklace, hitting his chest as it reverted back to its usual form.

 

“It’s nothing special, if I had five more minutes, I could’ve made a limo easy,” Rantaro stated, opening his eyes.

 

“Awesooome! I mean, it’s no mecha, but it’ll have to do. Bodyguard, Kaede, load up our unconscious friends. It’s time to move,” Kokichi ordered, running up toward the carriage. Wait. Did that little boy just give me an order?  

 

And what’s with calling Rantaro a freaking bodyguard? If this was a facade to foul Maki and Kaito, sure I could buy into that, but both were knocked out cold. I knew as much as them the mess we were currently stuck in. Besides, Rantaro was my meat shield! As well as Shuichi and Kaito! Kokichi was not about to move in on my prime killing game members!

 

“Stop with the act Kokichi! I wa--” I started to say, but Kokichi’s eyes suddenly connected with mine. His playful demeanor appeared to have evaporated from him, a dark shadow upon his face. The shadows only seemed to get darker the more I stared at him, my lips in a thin line. What, was he trying to intimate me or something? 

 

Kokichi’s face became shrouded with shadows, his eyes contrasting in a haunting way. Something about Kokichi’s stare started to make my words sink into the back my throat. Throughout his entire character development process, I hadn’t seen such a face before.Something about the authoritative air around Kokichi made me feel queasy, uneasy, overall...fearful. How was Kokichi having so much control over me with just a few glares? I sucked in my lips, thinking. 

 

“Those are orders! Understood?” Kokichi said, his tone turning much too serious for his character. But, I could feel my head...nod?!? My body couldn’t handle the stress of manual labor, why was it agreeing to it so willingly? My eyes squinted at the boy in front of me, grumbling as his expression changed. Kokichi now appeared to be laughing directly at me, turning his eyes back over to Rantaro. 

 

I proceeded to do the same, watching as Rantaro managed to lift up Kaito, Maki, and Shuichi body’s with ease. It was like...he had become superhuman of the sort. Kokichi proceeded to occupy himself in the carriage, taking a seat in the front. As I headed over to do the same, Kokichi grumbled at me. What was it this time, Rantaro easily handled moving the others?!? My eyes narrowed at Kokichi, his body stretching out to occupy nearly the full carriage front.

 

“For you to be a  protagonist, you should be more concerned about your people. You can’t just sit up here while they wake up and likely be angry. Weren’t you listening to Monokuma,” Kokichi said, “They’ll be their even stinkier counterparts when they come to. I’m relying on you to keep them calm.” I sucked my lips in further, giving Kokichi a sour look. 

 

“Look, you’re the top candidate. The one with the list. They aren’t just going to trust some random Kaede!” I replied, stomping one of my feet down after I spoke. I was not going to get pushed around by that scary face Kokichi had. I wouldn’t sit in the back due to whatever backward reasoning he came up with! 

 

“Kokichi’s right Kaede. He’s been given an administrative title, but your face is going to be the one people turn to. Well, in terms of code at least,” Rantaro stated between heavy breaths, plopping bodies into the back of the carriage, “Besides, you do have something special. The other Kaede’s out there may look similar to you, but you and Shuichi have been given precedent in taking the protagonist roles.”

 

I grumbled, tapping my foot. These guys were giving  me some serious pushback. What am I supposed to do, be all cheery and tell them we’re all screwed? I exchanged looks with Kokichi and Rantaro, giving them a serious pouty face. That’s worked in the past, so, it should work here. No one could ever win against my pouty face.

 

“Ugh, quit doing that face, you look like a fucking idiot,” Kokichi said, sticking his tongue out at me before turning to Rantaro, “Before we take off, could you make something quick for me? It’s really important to get blondie over here on board.” 

Rantaro nodded, turning to Kokichi as they exchanged whispers. Ugh, whatever they are doing, they better let me in on it. I’m tired of being treated as this 3rd rate character. I was just as valuable, if not, three times as valuable as either of them. I watched as Kokichi adjusted to let Rantaro sit in front of the wheel, Kokichi now sitting most closest to me.

 

I tapped my foot quicker, narrowing my eyes at the two. I wasn’t getting in that carriage until I got something. 

 

I watched as Kokichi handed the list over to Rantaro, who stared at it intently. Again, Rantaro brought his thumb to the base of his necklace. The color turned a jet black this time, the paper in his hand unmoving as his other hand opened with his palm facing upward. 

 

Several minutes passed in silence. A new green-and-black grid formed on the surface of Rantaro’s hand, eventually coming to me a…[strange device](http://shenronsaint.free.fr/objets/radar.jpg)? Rantaro let go of his necklace, allowing it to fall against his chest as it regained its original metallic color. Also, my eyes wandered to Rantaro’s ear...and noticed two of his five ear piercing had magically disappeared. So, that’s the limit...I felt a smirk curl on my face, but I immediately plastered it away with my usual pouty look. Rantaro opened his eyes not too long after, gesturing the newly created device to Kokichi.

 

Kokichi grabbed up the object greedily, clicking the top button several times as he  glanced over the list. Kokichi had that annoying smile about his face again, the one I’d often get too frustrated to say much to. Which is the case now. I let out a loud huff, hoping that would signal the boys to say something to me at least.

 

“Okaaay Kaede. We’ll trust you with the lucky list,” Kokichi stated, gesturing to Rantaro to hand it over to me. Finally; I got something from these assholes. I took a few steps toward the two, grabbing the list. Before I was able to fully pull the list out of Rantaro’s hand, Kokichi’s hand covered mine. Ugh; what else could this little shit want? 

 

“On one condition. Shuichi-boy sits up here with us! Even if he’s passed out, I’ll make sure he’s nice and comfy on my lap,” Kokichi stated, of course with my hand right where he wanted it. 

 

I attempted to grip the paper away from Rantaro, but his grip was strong. Rantaro’s eyes turned to me, a sinister look on his face too. Wait, why pushback here? I did have *that* power. I guess he’ll love to have his boyfriend back, completely obsessed with me! Hehe, I’ll gladly hand deliver Shuichi to him. Gladly. 

 

I gradually let the paper go, stepping over toward the back of the carriage. I had to act perfectly for this to work out in my favor.

 

“Fine, whatever you want,” I muttered, leveraging myself over into the carriage, “I’ll grab him.” I so badly wanted to smirk, but I resisted. I kept a  small frown on my face as I peered into the carriage. While there were a total of twelve seats in the back of the carriage, there was enough room beneath them to lay down three bodies, all  resting...even that cute boy Shuichi. Kokichi wants his boyfriend, I will hand the boyfriend over. Gladly. 

 

“No. Rantaro will grab him and hand you the paper. I know what your slut hands can do,” Kokichi spoke, the strange serious tone returning, “I didn’t like seeing that.” I felt frozen, my body half inside the carriage. My leg rested half inside of the carriage, my head twisting forward as Rantaro stepped into the carriage. How could Kokichi know? Junko and I made that deal personally, outside of his eyes and ears?!?! I could feel myself panic, I couldn’t handle this sort of pressure. Any piano piece would be better than trying to deceive this lying asshole! My secrets were filling up at the tip of my lips, for some reason, wanting to explode. My mind was telling me not to be like the purple-haired boy before me.

 

“B-B-But how, only Junko knows about my manipulation,” I stuttered out, nervous, feeling as though my power granted my Junko was now wasted. The entire point of things ending up this way was to give me the upper hand.  My eyes rested against Kokichi, his head still facing forward. I watched as Kokichi’s shoulders bucked forward abruptly, that annoying laugh resounding in the empty hallway. 

 

“Nehehe! That was a joke. But...now I know something new. I suggest you keep your hands to yourself for a while. At least until the killing game begins,” Kokichi noted, his head leaning back to reveal his laughing face. I was afraid to fight against those words, knowing how poorly his previous stare made me feel. Rantaro returned to the front of the carriage, Shuichi in hand, as he laid him against Kokichi and his own lap. The paper was left in my lap. Huh...all these people will eventually be under my wing, yeah? If I could manipulate them too...then Kokichi wouldn’t be able to fight against all fifteen of us!

 

I bit my lip, staring at Kaito and Maki’s bodies as they lay on the bottom of the carriage. I shifted over, sitting closer to them. Would my power...work on them while knocked out? Could it? But -- wait -- if that was a joke….was suggesting I move them beforehand also a joke? Was it a test? I looked toward the front of the carriage once more.  Rantaro appeared to be setting Shuichi down securely, two more of his ear piercings missing from his left side...so his limit is five objects? I could hear the sound of buckles snapping closed, and the engine revving up a bit. 

 

“Is everyone ready?” Rantaro stated, turning to Kokichi first and then toward me. I weakly nodded, gulping the nerves inside of me, wanting to spill all of my secrets out. But no; that’s just what Kokichi wants. I won’t let that happen. I needed to suppress my in-game personality further if I wanted a chance at this killing game.

 

As the carriage proceeded to turn and charge forward, only one thing was let in my mind: winning the killing game and getting Shuichi back.

 

No; just winning! And stealing his boyfriend. 

 

NO! JUST WINNING...and Shuichi.

 

Ugh, this is probably going to keep happening until my character grows in fully. I’m gonna miss being myself. 

 

**. . .**

* * *

 

“Gonta elegantly sweeps up those attacking me and Miss maid,” the over-the-top roleplayer announced, sweeping up a few Tenko’s and Kaito’s who had teamed up. Things are not looking good here. I was surrounded by a multitude of talented fighters. How could these people insist on fighting each other instead of working together?  A guy calling himself Gonta 258 decided to help me out when I got cornered by these “Despair Group” fighters. This group of thirty of so athletic characters found it easier to just kill everyone in their path rather than think things through. This group has even rejected my personal help in splitting them up into groups that *could* make up the serial code. So much for a poor maid’s offer to assist. Their eyes, covered in a similar grey swirl, seemed to be under a spell of the sorts. Or was that just my exhaustion kicking in?

 

I scanned the area around me as they continued to crowd Gonta and I, my body getting in position to swat them away. But, from the corner of my eye, I saw a carriage entering the hallway. I smirked. That could be my way out of here. And Gonta’s, if he decided to follow. That would be his choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudo, Comment, whatever! Thanks so much for reading! ^_^ Gonta's character is inspired by Nylocke from the series TOME(Link here: https://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/583600) I'm excited to write more of Gonta in this series! Let me know what you think about me stylizing Rantaro the way I did with his talent. Fight scene is almost here, wish me luck in writing it ;w;


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter for a very specific reason. Rest of the chapters of this week are gonna be pushing 3k+ and I need a bit of a break. Enjoy the snippet of Gonta. : )

I'm warm. Too warm. This blonde’s touch has awakened a side of me I had been resisting. The part of me that had been engulfed in stupidity, idiocy, plain ignorance of the world.

 

I was just about to earn my bachelors in biology, studying bugs among other creatures intently. I had theories to cure most poisons in the world. Across the world I’d travel and study rare species. Thousands upon thousands in research, scholarship, and prize money. I had nothing else to earn in the world. My parents could never be more proud. But, here, amongst the bloodstained clothes and carriage...I struggle for consciousness. 

 

“--onta...Gonta!” I heard the maiden from before scream out, her grey hair in my vision. I grin. I try my best to put up the facade of happiness. But, this was my fate now. To divest my extensive knowledge of biology, all sorts of lifeforms, into a mere “talent”. 

 

I sat in the back of the carriage, the blond gripping my hand tightly. No matter what fate we have here, all is dim. I couldn’t make anything better, brightening our paths to their original shine, neither could any of these other “talented” folks. Here I am, Gonta the Great...fading away by mere touch. How awful.

 

Shall I repent these acrid memories, replay them in my mind as the final memento to my legacy?

 

How cruel and unironic, for my intellect and prowess were undercut by such a fair maidens touch. But. With my last bit of intellect. I will reflect on my actions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for following so far. Kudo, Comment, whatever!
> 
>  
> 
> #Gontadeservedbetter

**Author's Note:**

> *shameless advertisement*
> 
> Do you like the Love Hotels from DRV3? Do you wish they were longer, smuttier, and/or despair-inducing for Kokichi? 
> 
> I have a series that I write love hotels for, here's the link if interested: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13177245/chapters/30139839
> 
> Here's another link if you're interested in being a guest writer in the summer for one of the characters(not written yet): https://goo.gl/forms/WqxGLrg54cskb2wm2
> 
> And, as always, thanks for reading!


End file.
